


Belongings

by TweakerWolf (Frostbyte)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Consensual Sex, F/M, Feelings, Loss of Virginity, Master/Slave, Some Abuse, canon torture, mention of blood magic, near rape, sweet Draco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-01-13 19:26:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 69,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1238149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostbyte/pseuds/TweakerWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during 7th year, when the Golden Trio is captured by The Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor. But what happens when Hermione gets left behind while Harry and the others escape? Is Draco really a changed Wizard? How will Hermione escape this time, can anyone even help her? More details inside in the full Setting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Nightmare Begins

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is a bit short, but I have plenty of chapters written so I'll be posting those soon. Hope you enjoy it!!

Setting: AU starting at the events in DH where the trio is caught and taken to the Manor, Harry and Ron are down in the cellar and Hermione has been tortured by Bellatrix (following the book, no 'mudblood' scar on her arm, although she does have a good size cut on her throat, without being fatal) . At the point of their capture, Ron and Harry have not destroyed the Locket Horcrux, instead rushing back to the tent to warm up. Afterward, none of them could decide how to destroy it so they continued to carry the locket and sword. When Dobby comes to rescue them, not everything went according to plan and Hermione was Disapparated with Bellatrix before the chandelier was dropped. They only Apparated to a different section of the Manor, while Dobby saved Ron, Harry, and Griphook. Because Bellatrix was no longer in the room, she didn't throw the knife and Dobby is assumed to be alive, although the story centers on Hermione and then Draco. As far as Voldemort is concerned, Draco completed his mission to kill Dumbledore and is highly regarded, not ill regarded like in the books (although Snape was still the one who actually killed Dumbledore, Draco got the credit). As far as Headquarters go, Grimmauld Place is still secure, it was not forfeited during the escape from the Ministry.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes, her limbs were unwilling to move, and pain radiated throughout her body. The room she was in was dark; there weren't any windows so she figured she must be back in the cellar. She groaned as she slowly sat up, fighting the wave of nausea and dizziness, and looked around for her friends. She felt a pull on her neck as she looked around and grimaced, reaching up to feel her neck. As her fingers found the cut, she felt a slight burning sensation from her dirty fingers. There was blood from the wound, she figured she must not have been out long if it was still fresh. Hermione pulled down the sleeve of her jacket over her hand and covered her neck with her palm to stop the bleeding.

Just then a door creaked open and light seeped into the room, silhouetting a pair of legs as they came down the old stairs. Hermione felt her heart start to race, she looked around desperately for something to use as a weapon.

"Don't bother Mudblood, there isn't anything but you down here," her captor spit out.

Recognizing the voice, she looked up into his eyes, unsure of what was to become of her.

"What do you want with me Malfoy?"

"You're coming with me, get up," he informed her, grabbing her arm and yanking her to her feet.

Hermione stumbled as she was towed up the stairs, feebly struggling against her former classmate's grip. Malfoy shoved her to the floor and stood back, blocking the doorway; quickly glancing around, she found herself back in the drawing room, only this time with more occupants in it.

"Well, it would seem as though the filthy Mudblood is awake again, she we continue where we left off?" Bellatrix cackled.

"Now, now Belletrix, let's give her some time," a low voice responded.

Hermione shivered at the voice, looking up to see Voldemort standing a few feet away. She was certain she was going to die. There was no way he'd let a Mudblood like her stay alive, especially when she was a friend of Harry. She just wondered how much torture she'd be put through before she was finally killed.

"Stand up!" Voldemort commanded.

Hermione steeled herself as she stood, she wasn't going to let them break her, no matter what they did to her. Lifting her chin, she stared the Dark Lord directly in the eye defiantly.

"Crucio"

Hermione opened her mouth in a silent scream, falling to her knees. Then the curse was lifted, she fell forward onto her hands, wondering what Voldemort was thinking. For some reason, the pain wasn't as excruciating as when Bellatrix was torturing her, but she knew it wasn't for a lack of empathy. Before she could give it any more thought, the Dark Lord spoke again

"Tell me, where did Harry Potter go?"

Hermione remained silent, not giving him anything, just sitting back on her heels.

"You speak when the Dark Lord asks you a question!" Bellatrix screeched, raising her wand threateningly.

Voldemort studied her for another moment, giving her a chance to speak, but it was obvious she was going to remain silent. He raised his wand and cursed her again, stronger this time. Hermione screamed out in pain this time, collapsing on the ground as the curse reverberated throughout her body. When he lifted the curse, Hermione panted, trying to catch her breath after screaming.

"Tell me!"

"I have no idea," Hermione gasped, not giving him the answer he wanted. As Voldemort raised his wand again, she reiterated, "I don't know, that's the whole idea."

"What does that mean Mudblood?" questioned Bellatrix as she strode over to the girl on the ground. She wrenched her to her feet, shaking her violently. "How could you not know where your precious friends went?"

"Ask that filthy creature over there where he found us," she spat out, looking over at Greyback.

Greyback growled and took a few steps towards her before Voldemort raised his hand to halt him.

"Answer Greyback."

"We found them in the woods, after they dared say your name. What does that have to do with anything?" Greyback snarled.

Everyone looked over at Hermione, waiting for her to explain. Bellatrix was starting to shake her again before she finally answered.

"We wander, so no one can find us. The only reason you did was because we made a mistake. We don't stay in specific places, nor for any amount of time. I couldn't take you back to where we were if I tried. So I can't tell you where Harry is, because I have no way of knowing." Hermione finally explained, satisfaction evident in her eyes.

Bellatrix let out an angry scream and backhanded Hermione, letting her fall to the ground, "Do you believe her my Lord?"

"She seems to be telling the truth. Even if she can't take us to Potter, she is still useful to us, I have plans for her. And I'm sure Potter would stop at nothing to try and get his little Mudblood back. Malfoy, step forward."

Hermione looked over as Lucius stepped forward, bowing his head.

"Not you Lucius, your son, Draco."

Lucius's face reddened as he stepped back and his son took his place.

"Yes my Lord?"

"You know this girl correct, she dared to learn magic at Hogwarts and performed better than any Purebloods?"

Malfoy's face flushed as he nodded his head, Hermione lifted her chin at that comment, they could never say she didn't deserve her magic.

"Well, since you've done so well these past few months, making up for your father's mistakes, I suppose you deserve a reward. I graciously give you this Mudblood, to use however you see fit. Teach her that a Mudblood can never be above a Pureblood," Voldemort hissed.

Hermione's eyes widened at his words, a slave, to Malfoy? There was no way she'd let that happen. She glared at Malfoy, standing up and preparing to launch herself at him. Suddenly she found herself back on the floor, bound with ropes, Bellatrix pointing her wand at her.

"Don't think you can escape here Mudblood, you belong here now," she sneered.

"T-thank you my Lord, this is very gracious of you," mumbled Malfoy.

Voldemort stepped closer to Hermione, Malfoy stepping up to her other side, holding out his hand. With a flick of Voldemort's wand, Malfoy's hand was cut open. Spreading some of the blood on his wand, Voldemort waved the wand over her bound body and called out a spell she'd never heard of, a strange numb feeling settling over her body. The sensation only lasted a moment, Malfoy pulling out his wand to heal his hand and clean off Voldemort's wand of his blood.

"You can unbind her now Aunt Bellatrix, she won't be going anywhere."

Hermione felt the ropes disappear from her body, she looked around, unsure why they were sure she couldn't escape. What was that spell Voldemort just cast, and why did it involve Malfoy's blood?

"Get up, off of the floor Mudblood. You've got things to do," Malfoy ordered her.

Hermione was about to give a nasty reply when she felt her body stand of its own accord. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Malfoy, wishing she could wipe the smirk off of his face. She wanted to curse him, hit him, do anything but her body would not move.

"Have fun with her Draco, you are dismissed for now, I need to have some words with my other followers here," Voldemort said, glaring at Greyback and Lucius.

"Come with me," Draco called over his shoulder, Hermione obediently following him. He led her out of the drawing room and up some stairs. "The entire second and third floors of the East Wing belongs to me, we won't be disturbed there," he informed her, a nasty smile on his face.


	2. Is This Really Happening?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione can't believe what is happening to her, but never in her wildest dreams is she expected the words that come out of Draco's mouth when they are alone.

Hermione felt her face pale at his words, what did he plan on doing with her? Surely he wasn't that evil that he'd force himself upon her. Earlier when they had been caught, he seemed reluctant enough to even name her, in fact he seemed sad to see her in his house. But now, he seemed like the self assured prat that he had been back at school.

The pair up to a pair of double doors off the third floor landing, leading to the East Wing; Hermione closed her eyes. She felt Malfoy's hard grip on her arm as he pulled her into the hallway and closed the doors behind her and locked them. She kept them closed as he pulled her further into his domain, her breathing shallow, frightened. Suddenly she felt herself being pushed down, onto a soft surface.

"Are you hungry?"

Hermione's eyes shot open at his question. She found herself in a large room, reminding her of the common room back at school. Before she could study the room too closely, Malfoy's hand was waving in front of her face. She glared at him in response, she wasn't going to talk to him.

"It won't do for you to starve you know. That would be a terrible way for the Gryffindor Princess to die now wouldn't it? I could always force you to eat, so at least be dignified enough to feed yourself."

Hermione looked him in the eye, not sure what to make of him right now. But she realized he was right, she might as well take this opportunity to eat so she nodded her head.

"Poppy!"

A loud popping noise was followed by a small squeak, "Master?"

"Prepare whatever she wants, I'll have the same," Draco ordered, gesturing over to Hermione.

The house elf turned expectantly to Hermione, waiting for a suggestion.

"Umm, I'll have some roast, with potatoes?" Hermione suggested tentatively.

"Right away Miss," Poppy squeaked and with another pop she was gone.

Hermione watched as Malfoy collapsed onto the other side of the couch. Looking at him she could see just how tired he looked, even gaunter than he was last year. Suddenly she wanted to comfort him, put her arm around his shoulder, he just looked so defeated. She mentally shook herself at that thought, he was a Death Eater, and he didn't need or even want her comfort. So they sat in silence, Hermione staring at Malfoy, wanting him to explain the situation, and Draco with his head in his hands looking defeated.

The silence seemed to drag on forever until they heard another pop and Poppy was carrying two plates over to the small table in front of the couch. When Draco gave her no further orders, she curtsied in her pillowcase and left. Draco seemed unaware that there was food in front of him and she didn't want to disturb him so she slowly scooted to the edge of the couch and pulled a plate towards her. Malfoy seemed to snap back to himself when he heard the plate scraping on the table. He quickly reached over and pulled his plate closer to him and started eating the food. Hermione followed suit, not wanting to miss out on a warm meal. They ate in silence, the sound of their utensils occasionally scraping the plates was the only noise in the room. Draco pushed his plate away from him and stood, walking towards an archway off to the left. He paused, turning back towards Hermione, hand on the wall.

"Did you want something to drink?"

"Oh, um yea, water is fine, thanks."

With a nod of his head he turned back and continued into the other room. Hermione hurried and finished the rest of her food, in case he summoned Poppy back to take away her plate. He came back with two glasses of water and placed one in front of her before sitting back on the couch with a sigh. Hermione pushed her plate away and took a sip of her water before she finally broke the silence.

"What is going on here Malfoy?" she demanded.

He turned his head to look at her with sorrowful eyes, "You are a slave now, that spell that the Dark Lord did, he bound you to me. You have to obey everything I say. You can't run away, hurt yourself or hurt me. For the most part, I think you can stay here, in my wing of the house; no one should bother you here. No one else should be allowed to hurt you except for the Dark Lord, since he cast the spell, and if they do harm you, it is my right to punish them."

Hermione stared at him, dumbfounded. This couldn't be happening, bound to Malfoy, stuck in his manor, unable to get word out that she was still alive. But of course the Order would figure she was alive, Voldemort knew she was valuable as Harry's friend and considered the brains in the Golden Trio. But would Harry and Ron come storming in here to get her back, they wouldn't be that stupid would they?

"I'm so sorry," Draco mumbled quietly, head back in his hands.

"You're sorry? Sorry? You can't be sorry because you are an arrogant prat that isn't capable of feeling anything for anyone. I don't want to hear it," Hermione snarled. She didn't care what he'd do to her but she was going to let him know she wasn't going to do anything easily.

"I am sorry, for everything. This wasn't supposed to happen, Dumbledore wasn't supposed to die. He said he'd offer me help, protect me and my family, why did he have to die?"

"He didn't have to die, you could have taken him up on the offer you idiot, he meant what he said, he would have protected your family."

"But I didn't kill him," Draco whispered.

"Oh, he decided to jump off the tower?"

"No. Snape did it. To protect me, he promised my mother I guess. Said he'd do whatever it took to help me complete my mission. He killed him, and I got credit for it, I'm in the Dark Lord's good graces now. But that isn't worth anything, not to me. I'm really just a prisoner, in charge of my family's lives."

Hermione couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth, he sounded so despondent and lost. Did Snape really kill Dumbledore, so Draco wouldn't have to? But why did Dumbledore have to die, wasn't Snape working for the Order? Her head was reeling with all these questions, she didn't know what was going on, she just wanted to cry but she had to stay strong.

"If you really are sorry, why don't you let me go Malfoy? I can tell the Order what you told me, find a way out for you," Hermione offered.

"I can't. You are bound to me, but since I didn't cast the spell, I can't end the spell. It's not like with Poppy, I can't just give you clothes and say get out of here. If I find a way, I promise I'll get you out of this house, somehow. But no one in the house can know, as far as they are concerned, you have to be a broken slave until then. Please, do you understand?"

"Why would I do that? Like you'd break me in one night," she retorted.

"Maybe not right away, but if they think that I can't handle you, they'll give you to someone else, or just kill you. You don't want to be bound to the other Death Eaters, I've seen what they do, how they feel about…Muggleborns. I promise, I won't do anything to you, at least not while we in this wing. I might have to… be dominant in front of company, but please don't make waves."

"Oh so now I'm a Muggleborn? Not a Mudblood? You had no problem calling me that earlier tonight."

"That was because they were all watching, I had to say it. Believe me, I'm tired of all of this, Pureblood, Muggleborn, Halfblood. Who cares? I just want this to end, the Dark Lord isn't even a Pureblood, what kind of twist is that? If blood status is really that important, why are we listening to someone who's a Halfblood? How can he even spout about blood purity when he doesn't have it? You've always been top of our class, much to my father's disgust. 'Draco, how dare you let some Mudblood beat you?' I got lots of beatings for that. I was never enough. That's why I hated you in school, because of my father's attitude, it was your fault I was getting abused. That's how it felt at first anyways," Draco ranted, getting up and pacing suddenly.

"Your father beat you, just because someone who happened to be a Muggleborn was better than you?"

"Of course he did. I was second in our class, you were the only one who bested me. Maybe if I hadn't tried as hard, wasn't second in class, he wouldn't know so much about you. Maybe then I wouldn't have hated you as much because I would just have been stupid for not being in the top. But of course I wasn't raised that way, I HAD to be in the top. But now I realize, I really tried my hardest, second in all of our class is pretty damn good. If you really had the talent to be better than me, you deserved to be top of our class, regardless of who you are. I guess it's too late for that to matter now, all I can do is promise I won't do anything mean to you now," Draco finished, collapsing back onto the couch.

"I really had no idea how hard it was for you in those early years. What kind of father does that to their child?" she asked, softening to Draco's predicament. She had no idea how nice he was really going to be to her, but she figured she would play along, at least long enough to find a way out of here.

Draco smirked and just shrugged his shoulders, "A Death Eater father. Let's just get some sleep, I'll show you around."

Draco stood up and held his arm up gesturing to the room, "This is the sitting room, it has a pantry just through that archway over there, it has snack foods and a small refrigerator with drinks. If there is something you want that isn't in there, call for Poppy, I commanded her to come to you if you call her."

Hermione nodded her head and looked into the pantry he had gone into earlier for a quick peek. At least she knew she'd have access to water and food. She followed him out into the hallway, starting by the double doors that led into his wing. The first door on the right was a moderate sized library with plenty of books.

"These are all my personal books, feel free to browse, I know how much you love to read. But be careful, if you hear someone coming, look like you're cleaning or something. Any books you want to borrow and hide in your room should be safe."

Hermione looked at Draco with surprise, he was going to let her read his books? That seemed too good to be true, but she'd definitely take him up on the offer. Hopefully she'd be able to find some dark magic books that can help out the Order. Across from the library was the sitting room they had just left. Next to the library was the guest room which was to be Hermione's quarters, with her own bathroom. Hermione couldn't help but smile since the library was right next to her room, it would be easy to bring books back and forth. Across the way and slightly down the hall from her room was a sunroom, with large windows looking out over the courtyard and the West Wing on the far side. The last two rooms on the floor were Draco's own bedroom, next to hers, and an office, directly across from him.

Hermione thought the wing was cozy, with six rooms on this floor alone, which would give her plenty of space to stay out of Draco's way. Her bedroom was more than what she had expected she'd get, let alone that she didn't have to stay with her 'Master' but to also have her own bathroom, Hermione felt like she was in some kind of weird dream. She believed Draco when he said that she wouldn't want to end up with some of the other Death Eaters, there was no way they'd be this lenient with her accommodations.

"T-thank you, for being so kind; you were right, I could have it much worse," Hermione offered, blushing.

"You're welcome," Draco said after a pause, looking over at her. "I give you access to all the rooms on this floor, but do not leave this wing unless you have my permission. Feel free to call for Poppy if you need anything and she'll oblige to the best of her abilities. If it is something I need to approve of, she'll bring it up to me. If I am not here on this floor I'm usually on the second, but don't look for me down there, that's were Death Eater business occurs and my father drops in unexpectedly."

"Ok, I'd rather not run into anyone else so that works for me. What kind of rooms are down stairs? There are only so many offices someone needs aren't there?" she scoffed.

"Well there were also bedrooms down there, but we converted a few. There is still one in case I have other visitors or I crash down there. The office is a lot bigger, knocked out a wall to make two rooms into one. And I have a conference room, not that I hold any meetings, but I guess it was for when I take over the family business, I'd have my own area to work in and I wouldn't infringe on my dad's space. And of course another sitting room with pantry, because you can never have enough of those."

"Wow, I have no idea what to do with all of that room, and that's only two floors of one wing. Thanks for showing me around, and for not being a prat. I don't want to be here, but you have surprisingly made it more bearable."

Draco blushed as he nodded his head, glad that she wasn't being difficult. Although he supposed she was just overwhelmed. He had no doubt that she'd spend most of the night and the next few days trying to find a way out of this place. He just hoped she'd be discreet about it, he didn't need someone finding out about her freedoms.

"Goodnight Gryffindor Princess, don't make too much noise in your efforts to escape. I know you'll try and maybe you'll succeed."

Hermione blushed at the nickname and mumbled a goodnight in return before she made her way into her new quarters. She sat down on the bed, wondering if she should take a bath before bed. Then she realized she didn't have any other clothes, she really didn't want to get back into her dirty clothes. Just then there was a quiet knock on her door, quickly walking over, Hermione opened her door to see Draco, hand on the back of his neck.

"I just remembered, there are some clothes for you in the closet, although they are last minute, something should fit you until Poppy can get your sizes. I've got plenty of money in my account that the Dark Lord can't touch and my family's money is still coming in from various places. I'll send Poppy out to get you some stuff, go ahead and make a list of some essentials.

"What will your family say if they find out you've bought me stuff?"

Draco shrugged and thought for a moment, "I'll tell them that I want you to be presentable in my company, so I can't let you go without bathroom essentials, as for clothes, you'll need a few pairs so they can be washed, although I'll warn you now, if there is ever company, you might be expected to wear, some sort of outfit."

"Oh well, I'm sure I'll manage. I'm sure you'll have to explain more to me tomorrow, this is all too surreal. Is this really happening?"

"Sadly, yeah; but like I said, I will get you out of here. Goodnight again."

Hermione closed the door again and went to the closet looking for something to wear. Inside the closet there was a dresser on one side and hanger space for the rest of the closet, as well as a small shoe rack underneath. Nothing was on the hangers so she turned towards the dresser and opened a drawer. Her eyes opened at the slip of cloth that she was supposed to wear. It was barely a slip that she would wear under a dress, made out of thin fabric and not even going down to her knees. It did appear to be the one thing in the drawer that would fit best. After digging around a little be more, she found a pair of underwear that would fit and that looked clean. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all she'd been spending a lot of time out camping, she could handle a night in a soft bed, even if it was wearing a slip.

She made her way to the bathroom, she turned on the bath water and undressed, then she called Poppy. She asked her to clean her clothes so she'd have them to wear in the morning; then she sunk blissfully into the warm water. She didn't have any soap yet to clean herself but just being in the water helped her feel more like her old self. Gingerly cleaning the cut on her throat, she tried to gauge how deep it was, it had stopped bleeding at some point so she hoped it would heal quickly. As the water started to cool down, she sluggishly climbed out and dried off, slipping into the borrowed clothes. She didn't even have any energy left to try and escape, there'd be time for that tomorrow, she climbed under the covers and passed out.

Draco paced in his room, wondering how all of this would work out. He couldn't let Granger stay here, he had made her life miserable enough in school. No one else deserved to be tormented by the Dark Lord, if only he'd had more of a backbone, he'd be able to stand up to him. Draco decided he'd go down to the main library and look for some answers in the morning. The Dark Lord was supposed to be leaving the manor in the morning, since Potter wasn't in their custody anymore, so all he'd have to deal with was his family. He laid on his bed, looking in the direction of Granger's room, he couldn't believe that she was sleeping right next door. It might not have been under ideal conditions, or even her choice, but it was still unbelievable. He knew this was his opportunity to make everything right, he wasn't going to make any more mistakes


	3. Thank You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco continues to surprise Hermione with his actions. They discuss what might be expected of her.

The Next Morning*

Hermione woke as streaks of sunlight snuck in through the blinds. Momentarily lost, she sat up in bed looking around. The memories of yesterday flooded back to her, she was in the Malfoy Manor, enslaved to Draco for the foreseeable future, right in the snake's den. Things wouldn't be so bad, Draco had promised her that right? But maybe he was lying, trying to lull her into some false sense of security and then he'd try to break her. Although Hermione doubted that, his words last night seemed really heartfelt, she'd just have to keep her wits about her and take advantage of the leniency to learn as much as she can. She looked up and saw her old clothes at the edge of her bed and smiled, at least she had Poppy.

"Poppy," Hermione called as she climbed out of the bed.

"Yes Miss?" Poppy asked as she Apparated into her room.

"Thank you again for cleaning my clothes. Can I trouble you for some breakfast?"

"It would be no problem at all Miss, what would you like to eat?"

"Just some eggs and kippers please, and could you take it into the sitting room like before?"

"Yes Miss, right away," Poppy curtsied and left to the kitchen.

Hermione quickly changed into her own clothes and went into the library. She had no idea how the books were organized, let alone what books she might find that would be useful so she started in the far corner. Browsing through the cases, it wasn't long before she found a few Dark Arts books, hopefully they'd give her somewhere to start. Taking the three books she found, she crossed the hall and entered the sitting room, she chose to sit at the same couch she had last night, placing the books on the cushion next to her. Propping her feet up on the table, she picked the first book up and started to read; she stayed like that most of the morning, pausing only long enough to thank Poppy when she brought up her food. By the time Draco found her, she had finished the first book and had started on the second.

"Not even one day here and you are speeding through the books, no surprise there," Draco chuckled.

Startled, Hermione looked up from the book, wondering if he was trying to insult her.

"I'd tell you not to bother with those books, I've already looked through them and I don't think they have anything important in them. But I could be wrong, it has been awhile since I've read them, but they don't have a lot on the Darker Arts," he offered as he sat down in a chair opposite her.

"I've only just started this one, but the first one didn't have anything I could use," she sighed in response.

"Have you eaten?"

Hermione blushed and nodded her head, wondering why he showed so much interest in her well being.

"That's good, I can't have you starving and I really didn't want to try and force you to eat. What about that list for Poppy?"

"Oh, I forgot all about that, I got all caught up in reading. Can I use your office?"

Draco nodded and went into the pantry to get some crisps and juice. He definitely wasn't much of a morning person, he couldn't understand how Granger was so, cheery this early. What time did she get up anyways? Surely she hadn't been up all night reading, she looked pretty tired when he talked to her last night. Draco had a busy day ahead of him, he really needed to get down to the second floor and look for books there. Maybe he'd have Poppy bring them up to this library and Granger could help him read through them.

Hermione pulled out a roll of parchment and some ink, finding a quill on the desk. She wrote down what sizes she wore, as well as the number of each item she wanted. Once she had covered the clothes, she wrote down her bathroom necessities, including her favorite lotion. She felt that it might be considered a splurge but she really missed having softer skin and smelling like vanilla sugar. She always felt it complimented her honey pear shampoo nicely. Even though everyone thought she was a prudish bookworm, she did have a girly side. Looking over the list, Hermione came up blank with anything else she would need right away that Malfoy would approve. He had mentioned maybe having to wear a uniform but that must already be in her dresser somewhere. As she strolled back into the sitting room, she saw that it was vacant again.

"Oh well, I guess Poppy will make sure there is nothing 'illegal' on here. Poppy, I have my list for you," Hermione called.

Poppy popped up once again and looked over the list and assured her she'd get everything on it. With nothing else to do, she sat back down on the couch and resumed reading. Poppy returned with all of her new items within a few hours so Hermione decided to take a break from her knowledge gathering. Taking the bags from Poppy and heading into her room, she started to put the items away. She started with her new clothes, organizing them in the drawers and taking out the borrowed clothes that didn't fit her. Surprising herself, she kept the slip she had worn during the night to use as pajamas; she also found the supposed uniform she might have to wear. Holding it up to her, she could tell it would be tight, but at least it would cover everything. And it wasn't a French maid outfit at least, it was more of a hotel maid looking uniform, she could live with that if she had to.

As she put the uniform back into the drawer she pulled it from, she shook herself. She could live with that if she had to? She hadn't been here a full twenty four hours and she was already getting complacent, how did that happen? Hermione backed out of the closet and sat on the edge of the bed and thought about her predicament. Was she really getting complacent? No, she decided, she was just making the best of what was going on. Malfoy just really put her at ease with the way he was acting, she believed him when he said he wouldn't hurt her. She really needed an ally in this house and if Malfoy was willing to try and help her, she wouldn't turn him away just because of their past. As for the outfit, he had already told her that the time might come where she'd have to put on a performance of a broken slave. At least her outfit covered everything; she'd be able to do her part without being too embarrassed. Having reassured herself, Hermione got back up and finished putting away her few outfits and then moved onto the bathroom items; she couldn't help but smile when she smelled the lotion Poppy bought, vanilla sugar was her favorite. Just as she finished putting everything away, she heard a voice calling out.

"Granger, you awake?"

"Yea," she responded, heading over to the door and opening it.

"I brought up some books from the larger library on the second floor as well as the library in the main part of the house. They are in the same section where you found the first few books, just wanted to let you know."

"Oh thank goodness, I really doubt I'll find anything useful in the books I found first," Hermione sighed. After a slight pause she asked him a question, "Why are you helping me try to escape?"

"I told you, I don't think anyone else needs to suffer the Dark Lord and his ideals. Especially not you, the brightest witch of our age, not to mention the Gryffindor Princess; it isn't right. I'll find a way to take you back to your friends, heaven knows how long they'll last without you Granger."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the last part, even though the thought also made her quite sad. She had faith in them, but in reality she knew they couldn't properly focus while she was being held captive.

"I know it's probably asking a lot but, can I maybe send an owl to the Weasleys? I want someone to know I'm at least alive."

"I don't think so, I doubt even I could send a letter out without it being read over. It's too dangerous. Although I'm sure some of the Order members are following me on the few missions I go on here and there. I don't think they wanted to try and capture me right away since they don't think I'm important. I can maybe try to leave a clue behind then, and hopefully they'll figure it out. I need to go to Knockturn Alley tomorrow actually, I'm sure we can come up with something before then."

"Oh thank you Draco," Hermione exclaimed and hugged him. After a moment she pulled back, blushing furiously, did she just hug him? And since when did she call him Draco to his face?

"Um, you're welcome, H-Hermione," Draco mumbled in surprise. He felt a flush on his cheeks and vaguely wondered if he'd get another hug from her in the future. Before either of them could dwell too much on the hug, Draco started to explain some things.

"Well um, I figured before things get too comfortable, I'll explain what is going to be going on here."

Hermione felt her hopes drop, he didn't say it with a nasty tone, but it was still too good to be true that she'd have freedoms here.

"I found out while I was downstairs that my father and my aunt will expect to see your 'progress' in a few days. Clearly they don't expect me to break you in a day or two, and they feel I should be focusing all my time on it. As such we'll be seeing a lot of each other since they don't want to see me downstairs. I guess they think that if you are broken, it will make finding Potter easier, I have no idea what they are planning. So I guess by the end of the week they expect something."

Hermione squirmed, "Something like what?"

"I don't know really. You are a Gryffindor and you've faced a lot of things, even Aunt Bellatrix's torture, and the only reason you answered their questions was because you knew it was to spite them. I feel like if I were evil, I still wouldn't have gotten far with you, your morals are too strong for that. Honestly I think that if you seemed too frightened, they'd be suspicious."

"You got that right, I'd die before betraying my friends, no matter what you throw at me."

"Either way, you'll feel compelled to do anything I order you, but unless I tell you to shut your mouth, you'll be able to sass as much as you want, although I'd suggest you don't overdo it. And of course there is the um-outfit," Draco stated, coloring slightly.

"Yea, I found that, it covers everything and isn't a French maid outfit so I'm not complaining."

Draco nodded gratefully and kept going, "I can explain away any lack of marks on you, saying that I don't want to mar your good looks. Even my father can't deny that you are good looking; he isn't above such, activities. Just as long as there are no, ahem, children coming from said activities. My Aunt may or may not say something about that, but you are my slave and I can do as I wish."

Hermione felt her cheeks warm at the thought, "They wouldn't think you're dirtying yourself by doing that, w-with me, a Mudblood?"

"D-Don't call yourself that. But my aunt might try to insinuate that, but no one else will care much, at least as long as they believe I'm only fulfilling my needs and most will assume it is against your wishes, monsters that they are.

"I'll say that you are encouraged to be sassy but know, I might have to, well, strike you. I hope you can be a convincing actress and make them believe I'm hurting you. All in all I hope the first showing will go as well as they expect and they are content. I'll continue to update you if I can think of anything. In the meantime, I guess we're pretty confined to these six rooms."

"Yea I guess we are. Oh, I got my stuff, I wanted to thank you for it, even though Poppy went out and got it. I do really appreciate you letting me have stuff."

Draco nodded his head, unsure of what to say, no one had really ever thanked him before and her Hermione did it twice already today. He realized they had been standing in her doorway for a bit and wondered if she was hungry yet.

"Well I guess that's enough troubling news for today, shall we head to the library and continue searching for answers, maybe have some lunch?


	4. Poppy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alittle bit of a heart to heart and a little bit of work

"Well I guess that's enough troubling news for today, shall we head to the library and continue searching for answers, maybe have some lunch?"

Hermione nodded her head gratefully at the change of topic. Draco led the way to the new books he had brought up, stacking them on a table and pulling out a chair. Once they were both seated, they each opened a book and looked for a way out for Hermione. Before they got too far into their research, Poppy showed up with sandwiches and chips (fries?) and placed the plates on the table.

"Poppy really seems in tune with your needs, how long have you had her?" Hermione asked as she reached for a sandwich.

Draco looked up from his book, confused look on his face, "Hm, what? Oh Poppy? She's been here for about ten years, but she's only belonged to me personally for the last three."

"Well I must say I'm surprised at how well you treat her, compared to what Harry told me about Dobby," Hermione stated quietly.

"Well I'll be honest and say she was treated just like Dobby when my father owned her. He has great disdain for any creature that can't live up to its purpose. She was a hard worker but of course she made a few mistakes which my father noticed. It took me forever to get her to warm up to me. Years ago I really wouldn't have cared, but when Poppy came under my care I realized I wanted to change that. I guess your little organization rubbed off on me during our 4th year."

"I didn't realize you knew about that, that would be about the time you became her master wasn't it?"

"Yea, I guess you can call it perfect timing, I honestly think that was what pushed me over the edge of wanting to be civil to Poppy. I had seen the way Poppy acted around me, just like all of my so called friends and other students at school, terrified of doing something wrong. I didn't want anyone else acting like that around me, and when I heard about your group, I realized that I didn't have to treat her like my father did."

"Well it's an eye opener to see you being civil, to both of us."

"I guess I can be full of surprises if I want," Draco joked, trying to ignore the knot in his throat.

Hermione managed a shy small towards him before quickly dropping her gaze back to the book in front of her. Draco looked at her in amazement, had she just smiled at him? She was trapped in this house as a slave, and she still managed to smile? And at him no less; he was flabbergasted. To cover for his surprise, he quickly grabbed up a sandwich and started eating.

It was a few hours before they tired of reading, Draco standing up and stretching his sore back. Hermione yawned, sleepy from reading for so long without moving. Poppy came and took away the now empty plates and awaited further instructions.

"Malfoy, now that I'm here, what exactly is Poppy supposed to do? I mean, as your, slave, what I am supposed to do?"

Draco looked up at her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well I mean, if someone comes up here, what should I be doing? I need some kind of idea of what they think is expected of me."

"Oh, right, of course. For a moment I thought you meant you want to do work," Draco said, relaxing. "Umm, I guess you'd do most of what Poppy is in charge of, whatever demeaning work I can find."

"But doesn't that mean you wouldn't need Poppy anymore?"

"No, Poppy would still make the meals and do the laundry. I don't want you to leave the wing, so they know I still have use for her. Plus she goes to the stores for me and such. And someone has to be your mentor, I'm definitely not going to teach you how to clean."

"Would Master like me to show Miss the ropes?" Poppy asked.

"If Miss wants, would you be okay with that right now? Or would you want to do it maybe tomorrow?"

"I guess I should get started, give me time to sort through what I learned from the books. I think a lot of what's in those books could help the Order members out."

Draco nodded his head and watched as Poppy led Granger out of the library. He figured he'd stay out of their way, to not embarrass her more than she was. He picked up the book he had been reading and went to his bedroom, planning on relaxing.

"Would Miss like to change clothes?" Poppy inquired as she conjured cleaning supplies.

"Oh I suppose I should, I don't want these to get dirty. Plus I should get used to the uniform, I'll be wearing it soon enough," she mused with a shudder.

She walked over to her closet and pulled out the pale blue uniform; sighing with resignation as she undressed. She folded her clothes and lay then on the bed, stalling as long as she could. It felt like the moment she put on that uniform, she would be giving a part of herself up, that it would be something she couldn't take back. Taking a deep breath and shaking her head, she walked back over to the outfit, holding it up. It was just an outfit, it didn't mean anything, Draco said he wouldn't ask anything of her didn't he? So why was she volunteering to put this on and learn her chores? Her brow furrowed as she thought about the situation, could it be that she had been played? Maybe Malfoy knew she wouldn't respond to threats, so instead he tricked her, tried to befriend her. She started to feel like a fool, pink tinged her cheeks.

"Is Miss alright?"

Hermione threw down the uniform as her response, "No I am not, I am a witch, a brilliant witch, not some slave, especially not a slave to-to Malfoy!"

"But Miss, Master isn't treating you like a slave. Master wants to be nice to you, he is lonely. They ask horrible things of my Master, dreadful things. But Master is nice, he has told me stories about young Miss, nice stories. Master is not trying to trick you, Master wants to protect you, from the dark ones."

Hermione sniffed, trying not to cry at her predicament, "How can you be sure Poppy?"

"Because Master told me that I'm not to let you do hard work unless someone is watching. Poppy promised I would do all the work I always do, and not let Miss help."

"When did he tell you that Poppy?" she asked, incredulous.

"After I returned from shopping, I helped Master bring books up to the library, Master made me promise."

"Oh, thank you Poppy, thank you for telling me that," Hermione ran over and hugged the small elf.

Poppy squeaked in surprise and mumbled something about being surprised. Hermione went and picked up the uniform off the ground, determined to find a way out of here for both her and Draco. She quickly dressed, the skirt only coming down to mid thigh, but wasn't too tight; the shirt on the other hand only covered down to her belly button and she couldn't button the first two buttons. Hermione knew that although she did have curves, she wasn't overly endowed in the breast department; a fact that Hermione relieved over at that moment. As it was she was showing more cleavage than she was comfortable with, if her breasts were any bigger, it wouldn't have buttoned at all.

"I don't really see how this outfit makes sense to be cleaning in, I'm lucky to be able to bend over without ripping this skirt," Hermione mumbled under her breath as she picked up a bucket.

The pair started in the library, Poppy showing her how to quickly dust off the books, informing her that the bookshelves got cleaned once a week with wood polish. After they dusted the library, the pair moved into the sunroom. Poppy cleaned the carpets with a device that looked very similar to a vacuum, although it was completely silent, while Hermione cleaned all of the windows. She needed help with the higher windows, letting Poppy use a hover charm on her since Hermione couldn't use any magic.

"All that's left for now is the office, Poppy already did the bedrooms. Then you can have dinner with Master and change out of the cleaning uniform."

"Do you make the beds?"

"Yes Miss, I make the beds, clean the floors, the bathrooms. I also pick up any dirty laundry in the baskets. In the sitting room, I straighten cushions, clean the floors, and keep the cupboards stocked."

"All of that, in a day? As well as coming when Malfoy or I call you?"

"Yes Miss, Poppy is a good elf, she works hard for Master and Master treats Poppy well."

Hermione smiled as Poppy explained her duties, the little elf clearly proud of her jobs around the Manor. Opening the door, she let Poppy enter the office before her, wondering what they cleaned in here. A sharp gasp interrupted her thoughts and she looked up, straight into Draco's eyes.

Draco had heard the office door open and glanced up to see what Hermione needed, but the sight that met his eyes made him blush furiously. Hermione was wearing a skimpy pale blue outfit that left little to the imagination; his eyes immediately found her breasts, ample amounts of cleavage showing out of the top of her blouse. He couldn't help but gasp at the sight of her in those clothes, the way the top showcased her tone stomach, the flare of her hips. He pulled his gaze up to her face, noticed the blush on her cheeks, thinking she looked remarkably cute like that. Before either of them could speak, Poppy spoke up.

"Sorry Master, Poppy thought you were in your room. We just came to tidy up before dinner, is Master okay?"

Draco cleared his throat and tore his gaze away from Hermione's, "Yes, I'm alright. Feel free to tidy up, you won't be in my way, I'm just finishing up some figures for my father."

Hermione and Poppy nodded their heads in acknowledgement and started to clean the room. Poppy pulled out the vacuum again and Hermione opened the blinds so she could clean the windows. She tried to calm the blush on her cheeks, she just felt so naked in front of him; she knew the outfit was tight, nothing like the clothes Poppy bought for her. She'd just have to clean as fast as she could and then it was back into her other clothes. Hermione had noticed the blush on his cheeks before he looked away, she wondered what he had thought when he saw her in this. But at the same time, she knew she'd rather not know just what he thought of her, he just made her so nervous and she couldn't understand why.

"Poppy is making roast lamb with mint sauce for dinner, would Master and young Miss eat in the sitting room?" Poppy asked, interrupting Hermione's thoughts.

"Actually Poppy, I think we'll eat in the sunroom this evening," Draco suggested.

Poppy nodded and left the room, Hermione following behind to drop off the cleaning supplies. Poppy informed her that she'd leave the cleaning supplies in her bathroom cupboard in case she needed them. As soon as Poppy left to go prepare dinner, Hermione pulled the outfit off and hung it up in the closet. She really felt exposed while wearing it, more than she had thought was possible; did she really have to wear that when confronting the Death Eaters? The thought made her shudder and she quickly pulled on her clothes from earlier; she couldn't wait to shower before bed and wash off the residual feeling of obsequiousness. As she made her way to the sunroom, she realized just how hungry she was after an afternoon of light cleaning, she couldn't wait for dinner.

Draco couldn't help but look Hermione over as she left the room, eyes roaming to her rounded behind, admiring her strong legs. Dirty thoughts quickly clouded his mind and suddenly he was glad to be sitting alone at his desk; he contemplated taking a cold shower before dinner. Draco laid his head on his arms and sighed into the desk; if he wasn't careful his father was going to see right through him. Groaning slightly, Draco got up from his chair and calmed his mind, hoping he at least looked calmer than he felt.


	5. Loyalties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together, Hermione and Draco come up with a way to get a message to The Order.

As Draco walked into the sunroom, he saw that Hermione was back in her regular clothes, much to his relief; he didn't think he would have been able to focus on dinner otherwise. He sat on one of the reclining chairs near the small table, Hermione having chose to sit on the long couch facing the windows, both looking out into the courtyard bathed in sunset colors.

"The garden used to be so full of life, Mother would tend to it every day; it was her escape from reality. But lately she hasn't had time to, or the will to. The Dark Lord comes by often, dropping in on his faithful servants, just to make sure they aren't neglecting their duties. The poor garden hasn't been tended to in ages and all of Mother's flowers are suffering," Draco mused aloud.

"Her garden is still pretty, the flowers just need a little love, but I'm sure your mother can bounce them back to their former glory," Hermione stated, looking at the garden. There were so many flowers down there, she didn't recognize half of them, but they were all so beautiful.

Draco smiled at the sentiment, hoping his mother could bounce back like the flowers, she was delicate just like them. Before he could dwell on his mother's predicament for too long, Poppy was back with dinner, the delicious aroma filling the room.

"Oh Poppy, that smells delicious, thanks you," Hermione gushed, mouth watering.

"Yes Poppy, I agree, you always cook a delicious meal."

"T-thank you sir and miss, is there anything else?"

"How did the cleaning go? Did you show Miss Hermione the ropes?"

"Of course Master Malfoy, we cleaned the library, this room, and your office. The bedrooms, sitting room, and the hallway were already done when we started."

"I'm glad to hear that, thank you for showing her Poppy, you can go now."

Poppy disappeared after flashing a smile and curtsying to her master. The pair ate in silence for awhile, Hermione focusing on her food and Draco lost in thought. It wasn't until Hermione cleared her plate that she decided to break the silence.

"Poppy told me you made her promise that I'm not supposed to do work around here. Why did you make her promise that?"

"Because, I don't want you to feel like an actual slave, you may be stuck here as a slave, but I refuse to treat you as one in private. I could have just ordered you to not do any chores, but if someone were to come in while I was away, it could get ugly. I didn't think Poppy would tell you that I made her promise though," Draco explained, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"But what if someone else asks her?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"Poppy is loyal to me; she knows how I feel about making you do anything, how I feel about you being bound to me. I confide a lot in Poppy and my mother in different ways, both have my wellbeing at heart. Poppy won't betray me; she's smart so of course she knows that my behavior is unbecoming of a Death Eater. All the same, I ordered her to keep quiet about what really happens in the wing, to lie to whoever asks her about your progress and work."

"If you knew she wouldn't betray you, why did you order her to lie?"

"Oh that's easy. I ordered her to lie so she wouldn't feel guilty about lying on her own. She would have lied regardless, but considering my parents are her former masters, it would be hard for her. By ordering her to do it, her conscience is safe, she likes me more than my father anyways. Any other questions?" Draco offered.

"Well, what if someone doesn't believe her, tries to make her tell the truth?"

Draco considered this for a moment before responding, "As an elf, she is loyal to her master, it is rare that an elf would disobey an order under any circumstance. Considering how much she cares for me, I doubt they'd torture poor Poppy to the point where she'd give them the truth, they think she is weak and wouldn't last long. And if they ask me to tell her to tell the truth, I've already taken care of that. I told her that only under one circumstance is it okay to tell the truth, even if I order her to. I have to give her the secret word for her to know it is safe, no secret word, no truth."

"Wow, you really have thought this out haven't you?"

"I have quite a few secrets that I want kept secrets. I know they'd think an elf would be a weak link, but they underestimate an elf that is treated properly by their master. I was once like them, thinking an elf obeyed orders blindly because it was their duty. But after I owned Poppy, and I was nice to her, I saw how she changed and realized that elves have true feelings and true loyalties."

Hermione watched Draco's face as he spoke about Poppy's loyalty and she could see how much he actually cared for her. It was heartwarming to see this side of him, she wondered how he'd be if he was brought into the Order, if he could learn to make friends, to care for other people as much as he does Poppy. She sighed inwardly, wishing there was something she could do for him, but her mind was drawing a blank. She couldn't even escape this house, let alone rescue Draco from Voldemort's grasp.

"Hey um Granger, remember I'm going out tomorrow, did you have a message for me to deliver, something short and easy to hide."

"Oh gosh, I forgot all about that, I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder as she ran to the office. Quickly pulling out ink and parchment, she sat at the desk wondering what she could write that would suffice. There was so much to say but so little room on the note; Hermione decided to keep it simple, just enough for the Order to know she was alive and to have them keep an eye out for more notes in the future.

To the Order  
I'm still alive and I'll update you soon  
-Hermione

She hoped that would suffice as she blew on the ink and tore the note from the rest of the parchment, heading back to Malfoy. Hermione couldn't help but fidget as she handed over the note for him to read, was he really going to be able to pass it on to and Order member?

"This looks good, they should immediately recognize your handwriting. Hopefully they don't do anything rash like try to come find you, especially if Potter or Weasley hear about it."

"Well I can't make any promises about those two but I'm sure the rest of the Order will stop them from doing anything stupid. Do you really think you can pass off the note? How do you know you're being followed by Order members?"

"I know I'll be able to pass the note off, but whether or not they realize it's a note is another story. And I'm being followed by a Weasley, of course I know he's an Order member; all that red hair, you'd think they'd take Polyjuice Potion at least."

"A Weasley? Do you know who?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"No, I don't recognize him so it's not the father, the twins, nor is it the annoying ex-Head Boy Weasley. But I honestly don't know how many of them there are, I just know he's older."

"Well I'm sure he'll notice if you drop the note, as long as you have his attention when you drop it. All of them know my handwriting so that's a plus. We'll just have to wait after that I guess," she finished dejectedly.

"Don't worry, I have a plan, the guy that watches me, he's really observant. He's not too careful about not being seen, but I guess he thinks I won't do anything rash, or that I'm blind," he added with a sneer. "But regardless of that, any piece of paper I may 'accidently' drop he'll definitely pick up on the off chance it's important. And if I don't see him, I'll postpone it; I don't want to take a chance that anyone else might pick it up."

"Do any Death Eaters follow you on your missions?"

"No, I'm very observant of my surroundings, only the Weasley bloke has been following me. Although I'm not really sure how he knows where I'll be, but at least he hasn't attacked me," Draco assured her.

Hermione nodded absentmindedly, wondering how his shadow did know where he'd be and what he'd be doing. Her eyes widened suddenly, could it be that Snape was telling them? But why would he do that, he was the one that killed Dumbledore, Harry had watched the whole thing. Draco couldn't bring himself to do it and in the end Snape did, and no one had seen him since. So how would he have even get in contact with the Order members, as far as she knew, all the Order members were wanting to get their hands on him.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I- sorry, I was just thinking about how they might know where you are. And how the same person is in charge of following you, although it might not be the same person now that I think about it."

"I know the Weasleys look alike but I can tell them apart, well not the twins but, you know," Draco assured her.

"No I mean, what if they were taking a Polyjuice Potion? So you always think it's the same person but really it's not?" she explained.

"That's an interesting thought; would members of the Order really do that?"

"I'm not sure, they never told me anything like that, that's just something I thought of as a possibility, you know, to lure you into a false sense of security," Hermione finished.

"The only thing I'd say that puts a hole in that theory is that he acts the same every time I see him, if it was someone different every time, wouldn't they act a little different?"

"Yea, that's a good point too."

"But that really is an ingenious tactic, you really are quite brilliant," Draco admitted.

Hermione blushed and looked down at her hands, her eyes widening suddenly, "You aren't going to tell your father about that right?"

"No, I wouldn't do that, don't worry Granger," he assured her, eyes downcast.

Hermione immediately saw the effect her words had on him, she had put her foot in her mouth. Before, she wouldn't have cared if he thought he was untrustworthy, but now, she wanted him to know that people are capable of trusting him; that he wasn't alone anymore.

"Oh, Draco I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to-to sound like that. You've been nothing but kind to me while I've been here. Of course I'm rather surprised at it all, but I believe in forgiveness and that people can truly change. And I've seen the change in you, I can't deny it. I was just worried that somehow your Death Eater friends might hear about that idea and use it against us."

"Us?" Draco looked up at her, hopeful.

"Yea, all of us, in-including you; here you are, willing to try and help me, to pass on a message for me. You've made it clear that you don't want anyone else to suffer by the Dark Lord's hands. Even if you don't realize it, you're more on our side than his now."

"Really, you're including me? Even after everything I've done? You're willing to just include me on your side?" Draco asked, disbelief in his eyes.

"Yes Draco, I am," she reached over and covered his hand with hers. "And I'm willing, if you are, to talk with the other members of the Order about you joining us. We can protect you if you let us, Dumbledore wanted you to be safe, and no one can deny that he offered you protection and that you did not kill him in the end. I can't promise everyone will be eager to accept you, but I do, and I won't let you down. I promise."

Draco felt his eyes tear up at her sincerity and her promise to him. Someone was willing to go out on a limb for him, someone who wasn't his mother, someone who didn't have to love him. He tightened his fingers around hers, "Thank you that means so much, but what about my mother? She is as much a victim of all this as I am. Can you protect her too?"

"I'm sure the Order will welcome you both, although I'm sure they'll want information in exchange, if you and your mother are willing and able to discuss it."

"Yea, we aren't under any orders not to talk, we're assumed to be very loyal members, but really it's just my father. I can't say that I truly hate him, although I don't love him either, but he is the reason my mother is stuck in this world, and I was raised in his shadow. My mother doesn't actually have a Dark Mark you know."

"She doesn't? How is she in his inner circle then? Why does she stay? Does she believe what the Dark Lord says?"

"No, she doesn't, although she was raised to believe in Pureblood status, she doesn't believe that anyone not a Pureblood should die, magical blood is magical blood, it's special and should be celebrated. Purebloods are just, like the aristocrats of our world, so of course we're held to a higher standard. She stays because she cares for me, and doesn't want to risk punishment to me. How she gets away with not receiving a Dark Mark I'm really not sure. She's married to a loyal follower and her sister is one of the Dark Lord's fiercest generals. Although really, I suppose she doesn't do much as a Death Eater, she's just the wife of one. Only the most loyal get a Dark Mark, Greyback doesn't have one, so I suppose it's believable my mother wouldn't either."

"But, you do don't you?" Hermione asked quietly, already sure of the answer.

"Yes, I do, I got it the same night I accepted my mission, to k-kill Dumbledore. Once I got it, I knew my life was a mistake, I could feel the evil coursing through my veins. It was vile and it doesn't belong in my body, I feel violated. I already wasn't sure if what we were doing was right, but it has been the only life I've known. Up to that point, I was lying to myself, I was unsure. But then, in that moment, I became aware of how wrong it all was."

"Oh Draco, that's awful, just awful. I'm sorry you've had to go through all of this," she cried as she threw her arms around him.

Draco collapsed into her arms, feeling broken but no longer alone. He felt her hands rubbing his back, heard her murmuring words in his ear; it was all so overwhelming. Tears began to fall down his cheeks, his life was a mess, he had caused so much harm the past year, he wanted to take it all back but didn't know how. Draco let himself be comforted by the girl that he used to hate, letting the tears fall silently from his eyes.

Hermione felt her heart ache for Draco's predicament, if only he hadn't been born into this family, he might have been okay. Now he had all of these obstacles he had to overcome and he was only 17 years old. She knew her friends wouldn't accept him right away, they were both stubborn, and she knew their dismissal would be rough for Draco, but she would stand by him. He had decided he wanted to start righting his wrongs and for Hermione that was enough; it was the right choice to forgive him and help him step into the light. Although she had no idea how Mrs. Malfoy would react to all of this, she'd hope that her love for Draco would prove strong enough.

The pair of them stayed like that for a long time before Draco finally pulled away and wiped his eyes, "Sorry about that, it was all so unexpected. I should head to bed, I need to be clear headed for tomorrow, you should get some sleep too Hermione."

Draco stood up and offered her a hand, the two of them walking to Hermione's room. She turned and gave him another quick hug before whispering goodnight and closing her door. He stood for a moment at her door, wondering how someone could be so kind, especially to someone like him. A smile crept up on his face as he made his way to his room; he had made a true friend, with a Gryffindor. As he lay in bed, he couldn't stop smiling at the ceiling, remember her hands rubbing his back; she gave him so much comfort with just a small gesture. Despite the emotion turn the evening took, he quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.


	6. Betrayals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermone gets an unwelcome visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: chapter has moments of sexual harassment and attempted rape, please don't read this chapter if it upsets you.

*Morning*

Draco grumbled as he sat up in bed, today he had to run another mission for Voldemort. He felt like his missions weren't really anything important but at the same time, Voldemort supposedly favored him so maybe they were important. Draco shuddered at the thought, knowing that what he was out doing might be hurting people. He rubbed his face as he walked to his closet and pulled out some robes.

"Poppy."

Pop. "Yes Master?"

"Can I have some eggs and toast please, I'll meet you in the kitchens when I'm done. Keep an eye out for Miss Hermione alright? I'm going to be going out for awhile and I don't want her getting caught off guard."

"Of course Master, right away." Pop.

Draco smiled softly, knowing that she'd be safe while he was gone. He quickly showered and dressed, heading to his office to grab a group of envelopes. He had five stops today so he shouldn't be gone too long, all he had to do was deliver them and be on his way. Too bad he never knew what was in the envelopes, but he knew better than to open them. Some of them were light and mostly likely contained letters of some sort but others were bulky and contained items. Draco headed down to the kitchens to eat as he wondered why he was reduced to a delivery boy; he assumed it was because this way they knew the letters weren't being intercepted. Quickly eating, he made doubled checked his packages, making sure he had Granger's note and his way to the apparition point and went on his way.

*Back At The Manor*

Hermione woke a few hours later, revitalized by the deep sleep she had. It was closer to noon that she had thought, she almost never slept in this late, and it felt good. As soon as that thought entered her mind she realized the absurdity of it, she had slept in and it felt good, and it had occurred while she was trapped in Malfoy Manor. Shaking her head she made her way to the bathroom to shower, making a mental note to really crunch the books today and find a way out of here. After dressing, she called for Poppy and asked if she could have bangers and mash for lunch and immediately headed for the library to start reading.

*Out and About*

Draco steadied himself as he finished Apparating to Diagon Alley. He glanced around, hoping to find his familiar shadow; it took him a few moments but he spotted the redhead leaning against a closed down shop a few blocks away. Knowing he had an audience he strode purposefully towards The Leaky Cauldron and disappeared inside. He quickly sat at the furthest table from the door, leaning in his chair so he could watch the door. It wasn't long before the redhead stole in and found a seat at the other end of the pub.

Draco lazily reached into his robe and pulled out Granger's note, hiding it behind the two Galleons he also pulled out. Waving the coins he signaled Tom that he wanted a drink; while Tom slowly made his way over to the intimidating wizard, he slipped the note into a napkin.

"What can I get for you young Master Malfoy?"

"Some mulled mead if you will Tom."

Tom bowed and quickly left the table, Draco looked over at his shadow and smirked; he knew he had to keep his attention, he didn't want him to miss the clue. Soon enough Tom was coming back, drink in hand, as he started to put the drink down, Draco raised his hand to stop him.

"Take this drink," Draco started, grabbing the drink, adding the napkin to the bottom, "over to the redheaded man in the corner if you would please," he finished, holding out the Galleons for Tom to take.

Tom looked at the drink warily, wondering if the wizard had managed to do something to it, before heading towards the other patron he had indicated. Draco watched Tom shuffle over there, once again catching the redhead's eye. He quickly ran his hand through his hair, blocking his face from the other patrons, and winked. Before the other wizard could react, Draco stood quickly and excited the pub, keeping his face a cool mask of indifference. He headed for his final stop, Cobb & Webb's to drop off his last letter then finally head home.

*Back in the Pub*

Tom placed the drink down on the wizard's table, not commenting on the drink and quickly walking away, afraid to be involved. Bill looked down at the drink, pulling out his wand, contemplating what to do. Malfoy had touched the drink but Tom's stance had prevented him from seeing if a wand was involved, he hadn't missed the wink the other wizard had given him before leaving but he wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe this was all a ruse to distract him from his destination, which really wasn't that important to Bill. He quickly murmured a spell to reveal any jinxes or curses on the mug. There were no indicators but Bill wasn't ready to drop the mystery yet; he had known the younger wizard had been aware of his presence but knew nothing of his intentions. Sighing, Bill was about to leave the drink on the table before a realization hit him, Tom didn't hand out napkins with his drinks; the napkin had to come from Malfoy. Carefully pushing the mug off the napkin, he still didn't trust it, and gingerly picked up the napkin. Immediately he felt a piece of parchment between the folded layers of the napkin; his eyes widened at the implications of what it could be. He stuffed the napkin in his pocket and quickly left the pub, Apparating back to his cottage to investigate. He pulled the small piece of parchment out and opened it, quickly scanning the note, eye widening once he recognized the handwriting. He had to share this with the rest of the order right away, Apparating over to The Burrow to find his father.

*Back at the Manor*

Hermione quickly lost track of time as she poured through the books Malfoy had brought up the other day. She had finished her lunch and was snacking on some crisps, waiting for Malfoy to get back to ask if he had been able to deliver her note. Earlier she had marked some pages she'd like to go over with him, they had mentioned enslaving a person by use of a cursed object. Voldemort hadn't used any object to bind her but if they could study what curse was used on the objects and how to remove it, maybe it would help her. Stretching on the couch, Hermione realized she needed a break, looking at her watch she wondered just how much longer Draco would be gone. Hermione was jerked out of her thoughts by a sudden pop as Poppy appeared in front of her, eyes wide.

"Hurry Miss Hermione, Mister Malfoy is coming," Poppy warned her, pulling on her hand.

"What, why is he coming here now, I won't have time to change, what do I do?" Hermione squealed.

Poppy snapped her fingers and Hermione felt her outfit change; looking down she saw that Poppy had swapped her clothes for her uniform. Next to her was the bottle of window cleaner and a rag; Hermione caught on quickly, picking up the items and running to the windows. Poppy produced her own rag and began dusting the bottom shelves of the bookcases when they heard the double doors open. Hermione wasn't sure what he would be expecting, but she didn't have long to find out.

Lucius Malfoy strode into the library, quickly finding Hermione by the windows, a dark glint in his eyes. Hermione turned to face him, attempting to look nonplussed but her knees trembled slightly.

"Well well, that outfit does you justice Mudblood, I never would have thought," he sneered as he took a few steps closer. "Why don't you take a break from your work, I want to see how much progress my son has made."

Hermione stood up straighter, shoulders back, "I don't have to do anything you tell me to, Death Eater!"

"Crucio," Lucius sneered, pointing his wand at her.

Hermione crumbled to the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs, curling into a ball.

"Mister Malfoy, you are not to hurt Miss!" Poppy demanded, pointing to the older Malfoy

"Poppy, leave us, now!" he demanded.

Poppy stood her ground, knowing she wasn't his to order around anymore. Lucius saw the defiance in the elf's eyes; he pulled up his wand, ending the curse on Hermione, pointing his wand at the elf.

"Poppy, if you want to continue to serve young Draco, you will leave here now and go to the kitchens," he said dangerously.

Hermione say the look in the man's eyes, she feared for Poppy's life more than her own. "Poppy go," she said quietly.

Poppy turned to look at the young witch, eyes wide but nodded her head, understanding. With a pop the elf was gone, leaving the young witch to the other man's mercy. Once the elf was gone, Lucius bent and grabbed Hermione by the wrist, cruelly yanking her to her feet. She whimpered in pain at his grasp, bringing a sneer to his face.

"Come on Mudblood, I've got a job for you," he told her, dragging her into Draco's bedroom.

Hermione's eyes widened at his implied threat, struggling feebly against his strong grip. As they entered the room, Lucius closed the door and pinned her against it, one hand curled in her hair and the other caressed her bare stomach.

"You know, I thought Draco was stupid to let you have a few personal items, what kind of slave would need to look nice, but he was right, your skin feels so soft and delicious."

Hermione whimpered, wishing she hadn't put on any lotion this morning after her shower as her captor leaned in and rubbed his face against her neck breathing deep. This couldn't be happening, she didn't belong to Lucius, he had no right to touch her, and she told him as much.

"I see Draco needs to work a little harder with your attitude, Mudblood, you should respect us Purebloods. We are your superiors after all," he commented with a nasty sneer.

With that he spun her away from the door and forced her onto the bed. She tried to scoot away from him but he grabbed her ankles and pulled her back. When she tried to strike him he grabbed her wrist and forced them over her head, leaning over her now.

"You are very feisty, maybe that's why my son likes you, I'll admit it is a treat from all the subdued Muggleborns I've had in the past," he revealed before smashing his lips onto hers.

Hermione squirmed and twisted, trying to get out from under him, she'd rather die than to let this happen, where was Draco? Her thoughts were interrupted when Lucius viciously tore his hands down the front of her top, ripping away the buttons, exposing her bra. Hermione let out a scream, not knowing what else to do; shouldn't she be stronger than this?

Lucius took his free hand and backhanded her before climbing on top of the bed, still pinning her wrists with his hand, his other roughly grouping her breasts. He roughly bit into her neck, ripping at her still healing neck, blood beginning to flow. Hermione screwed her eyes shut at the pain, praying for this to end, when a pop outside the bedroom door was heard.

"Master, a-are you t-there sir?" a voice squeaked.

"What do you want Dusky?" Lucius growled.

"You said to let you know when young Master Draco returns, he has just Apparated outside the gates."

"Alright fine, go back to your work."

A pop answered them, Lucius swearing before violently kissing Hermione once more, she could taste her own blood on his lips. As he climbed off the bed, she tried to sit up, only to hear Lucius whisper a curse at her and she was screaming, the pain firing through her body again.

"We'll continue this later Mudblood," he sneered, straightening his robes as he fled the room.

Hermione panted, tears falling from her eyes and a sobbed escaped her lips. She crawled towards the head of the bed and curled up under the covers, just wanting to disappear, feeling ashamed. That was where Draco found her when he came up to his room ten minutes later, wracking sobs coming from under his sheets.


	7. Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco finds Hermione in a horrible state; he does his best to take care of her and find out what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recounting of the events from the last chapter, please read carefully if you are uneasy around talk of rape/abuse. Most of the chapter is safe, but I just wanted to warn those who might be sensitive

When Draco came home, he could feel a dark ambiance in the house. He was about to make his way upstairs to check on Granger when his mom called him into the dining room. Draco tried to not appear impatient with his mom but he wasn't overly invested in helping her plan for one of her gatherings. He had no idea what kind of food the Death Eaters and their wives would want to eat; he tried to convey that to her in the most polite way possible. Narcissa Malfoy scolded her son for not making more of an effort at learning more about his fellow Death Eaters before dismissing him.

Running up the stairs, he called Poppy to him, hoping to hear if there was any trouble before he found Granger. When Poppy appeared in front of him, he saw the terrified look in her eyes, he skidded to a stop, afraid to ask what happened while he was gone. Poppy just grabbed his hand and pulled him into the wing, taking him to his bedroom door; she started wringing her hands together, knowing her master was going to be livid.

"Poppy, what happened? Where is Miss Hermione?" he asked her softly.

In response she just pointed towards his door, silently urging him to go in. Slowly Draco faced the door and pushed it open, sweeping the room in search of his ward. At first he didn't notice anything out of place, but then he heard a loud sob and spotted drops of red on his white comforter. He quickly ran to his bed, seeing Hermione's hair curled upon his pillow, the rest of her hidden from view.

"H-Hermione? What happened, are you alright?"

She didn't respond, just curled up tighter, grasping the covers in her delicate hands. She felt him slowly reach up and grip the covers, softly trying to pull them down so he could see her face; she didn't want him to see her like this, even if she was hiding in his bed.

"Go away," she mumbled weakly through her sobs.

"Hermione, talk to me, I want to help, please?"

The word please broke through the despair she was feeling, she couldn't push Draco away, not when he was trying to help; besides he was the only one who could confront his father. She let go of the blanket, waiting for him to pull them down. She sniffled and kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the look in his eyes when he first saw her. She heard his sharp intake of breath as the covers folded back, revealing her state.

As Draco softly pulled the covers back, he slowly took in her puffy eyes, shut tight, along with her bruised lips and cheek. His eyes opened wider as he pulled the blanket down further, seeing the blood still weakly flowing from her neck, the dark bruises already forming on her neck and wrists; finally he took in the state of her shirt, torn open and exposing her chest. He couldn't help but gasp, unsure how this could have happened, had one of Voldemort's men come in here to assault her? Quickly gathering her up in his arms, he shifted on the bed so she was laying on his chest, hands rubbing her back soothingly.

"Come on, let's get you in the shower, warm water will do you good," Draco implored, trying to get her to move. He looked over at Poppy, noticing tears flowing from her large green eyes. He motion for her to start the shower as he slowly moved Hermione to the edge of the bed.

"Come on, the shower will help, Poppy is getting it warm for you, is that okay Hermione?"

She sniffled before answering, afraid to speak, "I don't think I can walk."

"I'll carry you then, how about that? Let me just take off my robe," he offered, easing her back onto the bed. He quickly shed his robe, revealing a Muggle T-shirt and jeans underneath. "Alright, are you ready?"

Hermione nodded her head against his shoulder and he placed his arms under her waist and knees. She stayed curled up in a tight ball against his chest, never once opening her eyes as they moved to the shower. He gingerly maneuvered her in his arms so he could open the door to the shower; when he tried to let her down, she whimpered and clung to his shirt.

"Okay, okay, I'll stay with you. Poppy, can you make a bench in here so we can sit please?"

"Yes Master!"

With a snap of her fingers she brought up one of the wooden benches from the sunroom. Draco nodded his head gratefully and Poppy left to go make some dinner for the two of them. He carefully walked over to the bench and sat down, his back to the water as not to surprise the girl in his arms. Slowly shifting his body, he turned so he was now straddling the bench, lowering her down between his legs. He wrapped both his arms around her torso, pulling her close to him, rocking her slightly; worried that she had been so quiet.

"Can we move closer?" he heard her whisper.

"Of course, of course, just one second," he promised as he slowly pulled himself from her grasp so he could shift the bench. He also moved the shower head to cover more of their bodies with the warm water before sitting back down and hugging her again. He started rubbing her back as her sobs started up again, unsure of what to say to her; he hadn't even thought about the fact they were both fully dressed in the shower.

"It was horrible," Hermione whispered after a few long moments, finally relaxing in the warm water.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I-I was sitting in the library, reading through the books that you had brought up. I found something that might be helpful and I marked it in the book. But then Poppy appeared out of nowhere and told me Mister Malfoy was coming and I had to hurry," Hermione explained in a rush, the words pouring out of her now.

Draco stiffened at the mention of his father, had he really come upstairs to check on her, knowing he wasn't home?

"She changed me into my outfit to save me time and I grabbed up the cleaning supplies and moved to clean the windows. He came into the library, telling me that the outfit did me justice and calling me a Mudblood. So of course I stood up to him, telling him that I didn't have to prove anything to him."

"What did he do then?" Draco urged gently, sensing her pause.

"He performed the Cruciatus Curse on me."

Draco went rigid, his eyes seeing red; he took a deep breath to calm himself, not wanting to yell and scare her more.

"How bad was it?"

"It was really bad, although I guess not as bad as your crazy aunt. Poppy tried to defend me, reminding your father that he wasn't to harm me. But he threatened her, saying if she wanted to keep serving you she'd leave. So I told her to leave, I didn't want anything to happen to her; I at least knew he wouldn't kill me, but he might have killed her," Hermione shivered at the thought.

"I can't believe that bastard would do something like this!" Draco growled low in his throat.

"Well after Poppy left, he pulled up off the ground and dragged me into your room, where he pinned me against your door, he said I had a job to do," she continued quietly, starting to shiver.

Draco rubbed her arms as she continued, "He told me that you were right in letting me have personal items, that my skin was so soft and, and de-delicious. But I told him he had no right to touch me, I wasn't his; he didn't take that too well, saying that you needed to work on my attitude because I should respect Purebloods. That's when he forced me on-onto the bed, and I tried to scoot away from him, but he grabbed my ankles, then pinned my wrists when I tried to hit him.

Hermione couldn't help but sob as she recalled everything that happened, "He said that you must like me feisty and that it was a treat compared to the Mudbloods he'd been with lately. That's when he kissed me, hard." She raised her hands to lightly touch her lips, lost in the memories.

"After that he ripped my top and I screamed, not being able to get away from him, I should be stronger than this!"she argued vehemently.

"Shhh, it's alright, you tried, my father is just a monster, he's strong and you had no way to protect yourself, no wand, I wasn't here for you," Draco paused.

"It's not your fault, it's like you said, he's a monster, there's no telling what he might have done if you were here," she moved her fingers from her lips to her cheek. "He slapped me across the face when I screamed, then he climbed on top of me, groping me. He bit my neck, tearing open my older wound, it hurt so bad, it still does."

Draco cradled her head to his chest, wanting to take all her pain away; he had to find her a way out before things got even worse.

"Shortly after that another elf was outside your room, you father called him Dusty? I don't remember, something like that. He had the elf come to warn him when you had returned to the manor, I guess so you wouldn't catch him. He kissed me again, my blood on his lips. When he stood, I tried to scoot away from him again, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. He cursed me again, worse than last time but not as long. Then he left, telling me we'd continue it later. I crawled under your covers and just cried, I don't know how long it was before you came in."

"I'm going to have to have a serious talk with my father; I have no idea what he was thinking. I am so sorry you had to go through all of that."

"I think I'll be okay, there was no lasting harm done, bruises heal."

Draco chuckled, loving her for her spirit, "Are you ready for supper?"

Hermione looked up at him, a slight smile on her lips, one that managed to reach her eyes. She nodded her head and rubbed her tummy. As he stood up and held out a hand for her, it hit her that he was fully dressed, his clothes soaked through.

"Oh Draco, your clothes," she looked down feeling embarrassed, only to notice he was still wearing shoes. "Oh, your shoes too?"

"It's quite alright, clothes can be washed and shoes can be dried, it's not like these are my only pair of shoes, nor are they my favorites," Draco chuckled, pulling her gently off the bench and turning off the water. He took his shoes off and emptied them in the shower before stepping out to get Hermione a towel; he didn't want her to get cold in her wet clothes.

Hermione gratefully wrapped the fluffy towel around her as she finally took in his shower, amazed.

"Your shower is huge Draco, there are three showerheads in here. No wonder there was room for a bench, I hope it's not ruined," she said looking down at the wood.

"It'll be fine, oh and the awesome part about this shower is if you position the showerheads just right, you can sit in the middle of the floor and just let the water massage your muscles. Come on, let's get you out of those clothes, Poppy laid out some nice warm clothes for you, freshly dried."

Draco had a towel draped over his shoulders, not really concerned with drying off just yet. He held Hermione's hand as he escorted her to her room, giving her support. She blushed as she closed the door to change, letting him know she'd meet him in the sitting room. As Draco walked back to his room to change into dry clothes, he ran his hands through his hair, wondering just what he was going to say to his father. He almost slammed his door in his silent rage.

Hermione laid her outfit over the edges of the tub, not want to get the floor wet, she had no idea what she was going to do about the missing buttons but she didn't even want to look at her shirt; it still reminded her of earlier. Was she going to be able to face Lucius again after what he did? Would he say anything about it or would he just try to pick up where he left off? Hermione paled at the thought, knees shaking; she thought she was going to collapse to the bathroom floor when Poppy appeared next to her, steadying her. Using Poppy for support, Hermione was able to make it to the sitting room and sit on one of the couches to wait for Draco.

When Draco appeared a few minutes later, he found Poppy sitting with Hermione so she wouldn't be alone. He quickly sat on her other side, wanting to give her comfort but not knowing how. Hermione immediately leaned on his shoulder, wanting to feel his warm body against hers and take comfort from it. Draco immediately wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer and relaxing.

"I've brought up soup and crackers for dinner, warm soup is good for bad days," Poppy informed them, pointed to the bowls on the table.

"Thanks Poppy, this is great."

Hermione pulled the bowl closer to her, letting the warm steam wash over her face. She dipped a few crackers in the soup, absentmindedly nibbling at them; Draco sat back and watched over her, worried about the faraway look in her eyes.

"Hey Draco, can I ask you a question?"


	8. We Need A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Hermione calms down, Draco remembers to tell her about his day. Now that one of the Weasley's got the message, what should they do?

"Always."

"How was it that Poppy was able to warn me that your dad was coming to see me?"

"Well, before I left, I told her to keep an eye out for you, you know to keep you safe. Elves have a lot of magical abilities, more than I ever knew about. She probably put up some kind of wards on the stairs to alert to someone coming this way."

"Really? That's amazing, I knew elves had strong magic but I'm surprised. Poppy really is amazing isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. Those wards must have given her enough time to warn you and get you dressed. I can always depend on her, although I should have known my father would come looking for you. I had no idea he'd do something like that but of course he'd come check on you. I'm glad I came home when I did, before it went any further," Draco whispered.

The pair finished dinner in silence, happy in each other's company. Hermione tried to think of a way to tell Draco what was on her mind, it was only 2 more days until she was going to be demonstrated to the Death Eaters. She could barely handle Lucius, what would a group of Death Eaters want to see from her? She highly doubted they'd want to watch her clean the house, that seemed a little too tame; maybe she'd have to serve them a meal? Letting out a deep sigh, she slumped back into the couch unsure what was going to happen to her.

Draco watched as she laid back on the couch, wondering what was on her mind. Suddenly he remembered the good news, sitting forward excitedly.

"Hermione, I totally forgot to tell you, I was able to pass off your note, the Weasley was following me again today like I thought."

"He was? What happened?" Hermione asked, light coming back to her eyes.

"Well I was dropping off some packages like I was supposed to, and I waited until I had one package left. I arrived at Diagon Alley and there he was, like he knew it was my last stop. I went into The Leaky Cauldron, waiting for him to follow me. I slipped your note into a napkin and ordered a drink; When Tom came to give me the drink, I slipped the napkin under the drink and told him to give it to the redheaded fellow. Of course Tom was suspicious but I gave him a few Galleons and he knew better than to deny me, he probably just hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for it. I managed to catch Weasley's eye and winked at him, hoping he'd figure there was something up with the drink. I didn't stay, I figured that would be too risky; I don't know for sure if he found the note but I hope so."

Hermione's eyes widened as she took in what he was saying. Someone in the Order probably knew she was alive still, surely a plan was starting to form. She smiled at Draco, feeling relief at her predicament. But the relief was short lived, what if that plan included storming the Manor to try and rescue her?

"Hey, what's going on in that brilliant mind of yours?"

Hermione blinked, realizing he was talking to her, "Well, at first I was relieved but then, what if the Order tried to come here and free me?"

"Well, first I think the Order is smarter than that, I mean the Death Eaters have only managed to capture a few members-"

"You-you said the Death Eaters, not we, do you realize that?" Hermione interrupted.

"I did?"Draco asked bewildered, unsure what that meant.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you, please continue."

Draco smiled at her and nodded his head, "None of the Order members captured have given anything up. You obviously pick strong and brave members to join you, it's quite the organization. No one is going to come storm the Manor, it would be a suicide mission really. They'll wait, wanting more information before deciding anything; you're too important for them to make a half-assed decision. I'm sure I'll be approached the next time I go out, I'm not really sure all of what I can tell them about all this, I mean, that's not really a short conversation, 'Oh hi, I'm Draco, a known Death Eater, Hermione Granger, most brilliant witch of our age, is now my slave and trapped at the Manor, how do you do?' Yea, somehow I don't think that will go over well."

"Well, not with that attitude Draco," she chided.

Draco couldn't help but chuckle at the professor-like tone she had. "Well what do you think I should say then, Miss Professional?"

"Well, I guess it depends on who contacts you, and I'll give you another note to take with you," Hermione told him, thinking fast. She stood up and start pacing, brain snapping to action, "If it was Bill or Charlie, they are the two older Weasley's you haven't met, they'd almost immediately take the note to Arthur, and go from there. I'm not sure if Arthur would be the one to meet you or if it might be someone else, I'm not even sure if they'd try to talk with you straight out or try to alert you to a message, like the one you sent them."

Draco watched her pacing, wondering if this was how Potter and Weasley used to feel during their adventures at school, "Okay, well like you said, it all depends on how they react. So I'll have another message from you, they'll approach me one way or another. But what should I tell them when we finally do get to the speaking part?"

"Well, I'll start by telling them you are my only ally in the here, hopefully they won't treat you too harshly-"

"Hopefully they'll believe it, I mean, they might just assume I made you write it," Draco interrupted thoughtfully.

"Hmm, good point. They might even make you take Veritaserum, although I suppose that would work in your favor, you are my ally in this house. Although I'm not sure what else they may try to force out of you. Generally I don't think they'd be cruel to you but um well, your family and the Weasley's haven't exactly gotten along, especially after," Hermione trailed off.

"After what?" he prodded gently.

"Well remember our second year, the whole Chamber of Secrets thing? Well um, your father was kind of responsible for it really. He gave Ginny Vol- You-Know-Who's old diary. It turned out to be a Horcrux, do you know what that is?"

"Yea, my father told me about those a few months ago, after the Dark Lord mentioned it to my aunt. How did my father have the diary?"

"Well being a Death Eater it's not that surprising, although why he gave it to a student, let alone Ginny I have no idea. I'm not sure if he was ordered to or if he just thought it would be fun. Hell, I'm not even sure he knew how dangerous it was, it's not like I got the chance to ask him. But Arthur and his family know he was behind it. I can't imagine they've forgotten it, Ginny is their only girl and youngest child," Hermione explained.

"Wow, my father never ceases to amaze me, I really wouldn't be surprised if he did know what it was, although why he'd hand it out I don't know. So I might not receive the warmest welcome, good to know," Draco grimaced.

"Well I'm hoping they'll read my note before doing anything too drastic. I could put that you are trying to help me, you offered to pass on the note for me. They can' ignore that, you did pass on the note, and I am alive, although, I guess they have no way to know that."

"I guess we'll have to convince them, I'm okay taking Veritaserum if that's the only way they'll believe me. I am trying to help you, I have no reason to hide that; what else can you put in the note that might convince them?"

"I'll have to tell them to let you come back to the Manor, I have no doubt your father will kill me if they do anything to you. So I'll put you are helping me, you want to come over to our side, in exchange for information, and that it is important you come back to the Manor unharmed. And that I'll be in contact, that you are the only means of communication between us. It will all work out I'm sure."

"Well it all sounds good so far, so will you please sit, your pacing is making me nervous," Draco pleaded.

Hermione blushed, not realizing that she had been pacing the whole time, "Well, I'm actually kinda nervous too, there is something else on my mind." Hermione sat next to Draco, hands in her lap, trying not to fidget.

"What's on your mind?"

"Well, after what almost happened early, I've had a lot on my mind. I mean, we have 2 more days until I'm supposed to parade around like a semi-broken slave girl. I have no idea what they expect of me, what they'll want you to prove; it's quite nerve wracking."

"But you know that I'm not going to hurt you right? I mean, I might have to-to hit you, but I promise it won't be hard. Or I may say some nasty things, but you'll know I'm not serious right?" Draco asked, eyes full of concern.

"I know you won't mean it, that's not what I'm worried about either. I'm, oh God this is hard," Hermione moaned, face turning red. "Ca-can I ask you a favor?"

Draco took in the worried, nervous look on her face, her fidgeting hands, wondering what she may ask.

"Of course you can, I'll do my best, whatever the favor may be."

"I-I was wondering if-"

Poppy suddenly Apparated into the room, interrupting her, "Excuse me Master but Mistress Malfoy wishes to speak with you, she says it is urgent."

"Okay Poppy, I'll be right there, stay with Miss Hermione okay. I'm sorry, I'll be right back, I promise I'll listen when I get back," Draco told her, leaving the room.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, this was going to be hard than she thought. It was just a simple question, why couldn't she just ask it? But it was so embarrassing, her face was still red. She fell over on the couch, groaning into the cushions.


	9. Serious Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco talks with Narcissa about stuff; Hermione and him spend time together trying to figure out her predicament

Draco quickly marched into his mother's sitting room, finding her reading one of her books. She looked up she he sat next to her, smiling at her son.

"Draco, how are you?"

"I'm good Mother, are you well?"

"As well as to be expected," she admitted, giving him a sad smile. "I asked you her because, I'm concerned, your father told me that he visited the girl today."

"Yea, I've heard," Draco spat out.

"Now Draco, that's not an appropriate tone to take in front of your mother," she admonished.

"Sorry Mother."

"Now, from what I heard Lucius say, that girl still has a lot of work to be done, are you sure you'll be ready by Friday?"

"Mother, did Father tell you what happened with her?"

"No, he never finds it necessary to give me the details, you are fully aware of this," Narcissa reminded him, raising an eyebrow. She knew her son would tell her about her husband's secrets.

"Well, he tried to force himself on her, and the only reason he wasn't successful is because I came home. Hermione was a complete mess when I found her; he said she was feisty, and that it was a treat compared to the other, girls, he's had in the past. He blatantly waited until I wasn't home to watch over her."

"Draco, you are lucky I care for you more than anyone, and that I cast a Silencing Charm."

"I felt it when I walked into it, or else I would have cast one first."

"You must be careful, you are aware you called her Hermione are you not? That makes it seem as though you care for this girl," Narcissa warned.

"Mother, you know how I've felt the past few years, especially after I received the Mark. You know I can't treat her like they expect. But she will be ready by Friday, I'm not concerned about that. Although there is something more serious I want to discuss with you, do you want to hear it now?"

"Yes, you father has left again, so it is safest to tell me now."

"Well, I've done something possibly stupid but very liberating. I passed on a message to the Order for Granger, they know she's alive. She believes she can get them to protect us, Mother, this is our chance to get out, neither of us believes in what is happening here," Draco whispered despite the charm.

"Are you certain Draco? That is a rather dangerous idea."

"Yea, I'm not sure what is going to happen yet, I'll know more once I go out on Thursday, I'm certain someone will approach me then. Once I get more information I'll share it with you, are you okay with all of this?"

"Draco, I've wanted the very best for you since you were born, and I know this life is not the best for you. Being someone's blind follower, that's no life; you are a Pureblood, you stand on your own two feet and take charge of your life. You alerting the Order to Granger's predicament, which is the most take charge thing you've done since getting your mark. I'm proud of you son, you've finally realized where you want to be. I wish to help however I can, although I can't promise I can go with you, I'll make sure you get there with Hermione."

Draco gave her a grateful smile, his mother was so understanding, he never fathomed how she survived his father all these years.

"I do have a favor to ask of you, would you be able to watch after Hermione when I leave on Thursday, I don't want anything else to happen to her and Poppy can only do so much."

"Of course I will, she doesn't deserve to have something like that happen to her, what are you thinking?"

"Actually I was hoping you could have her help you with the garden. I could pretend to order her to be out there, since I know you love the flowers so much and you haven't been able to care for them like before. I think it would be good for both of you, although you'll have to be mindful of anyone watching," Draco offered.

Narcisse smiled at her son, "That's a wonderful idea, I'd really enjoy that. I'm sure she will as well. Now run along and figure out what you're going to do about that meeting on Thursday."

"Thanks Mother, I love you."

"I love you too."

Draco stood and kissed his mother on her cheek before leaving her to her book. He was relieved she was on board, he'd make sure she was protected. Now to tell Hermione the news, and find out what favor she wanted from him. When he came back, he found her in the office, sitting in his chair with a quill in her mouth. He flashed back to his memories of her at Hogwarts, in the library, she often looked just like she did now.

"What are you working on there Curlicue?"

Hermione looked up, what had he called her? "Curlicue?"

Draco chuckled, "Yea, that was the first thing that pops into my head when I think of you, well besides Gryffindor Princess, and I figured you wouldn't take too kindly to being called Princess, given their history of being damsels in distress."

"I've never, gotten a nickname like that before, it's always been bookworm, I think I like it," she admitted with a blush. "You can even call me Cue for short. Can I come up with a nickname for you?"

"Y-you want to? Really? I think that would be great," Draco blushed, he'd never had anyone do that for him before. Was this what it was like to have friends?

"I already have some ideas, but I'm not sure yet, I'll let you know okay?" Hermione told him with a smile. "Oh, I never answered your question, I'm working on what to write for the Order."

Draco came and stood behind her, looking over her shoulder at the parchment. She hadn't written much, most likely trying to find the right way to word everything. He looked down at her hair, loving the way it curled, no longer frizzy and uncontrolled, her skin was a beautiful light tan color, contrasting his own alabaster skin. She looked up at him, her mocha eyes seeking out his grey ones.

"Can you help me write it? I really don't know how to word it, I'm actually kind of nervous, I don't want it to sound like I was forced to write it you know?"

Draco had to blink a few times before he registered what she had said. "Yea, I can help, so far you have that I'm trying to help you escape, that's a good start. Let's see, then you can say something along the lines of how I want to help the Order, I want to protect you from my family."

Hermione looked up at him, seeing a shift in his eyes, almost as if he were trying to tell her that, not what to write. She smiled at him, knowing his words were sincere, turning back to the parchment to include what he said. The more the Order understood that he wasn't trying to be the enemy the better. She had to beseech them as much as she could with her words until she could be there in person; Draco couldn't risk being taken, he had to come back to the Manor to avoid suspicion. He had to come back to protect her.

Together the two of them managed to come up with a reasonable note to pass on. Hermione stood up from the desk and yawn, the day taking a toll on her.

"You must be tired, head to bed, you can tell me what you wanted tomorrow. When I leave Thursday, I'll be leaving you with my mother. She knows how I feel about you, and what happened with my father as well. She'll make sure no one will hurt you, although for appearance sake, she might be a little cold towards you. But you'll be out taking care of her garden, I'm sure you'll be happy to get outside. Let's get you to bed, come on."

Draco led her back to her room, wishing her a goodnight before making his way to his room. Hopefully tomorrow will be drama free so he could better prepare for Thursday. He also needed to prepare for Friday, what would they be expecting of him? He hoped he'd be able to pass whatever test they had for him, he couldn't risk them hurting Hermione just because he wasn't prepared.

*Wednesday Morning*

Draco let Hermione sleep in, he knew she had something on her mind and hoped that by sleeping in she'd be able to work out whatever it was. He knew she was strong and he hoped that what his father had done wouldn't affect her in the long run. It seemed no matter how hard he tried, people would always get hurt by his family. To take his mind off of everything, Draco decided to head to the library and look through the books Hermione had mentioned. He was shocked when he saw her small body curled up on one of the couches, a light blanket draped over her. When had she woken up? Or had she come in here to seek comfort, unable to fall asleep?

Quietly stepping up to the couch, Draco watched her sleep, she looked so relaxed in those moments. Reaching down, he pulling the open book out of her hands, looking at what she was reading. There was a slip of parchment between the pages that she must have been using as a bookmark, Draco moved it out of the way so he could read. She had found a passage mentioning the use of an enchanted bracelet to for someone to do your bidding. Once the bracelet was put on, the 'slave' had to carry out any orders the owner gave them; they couldn't harm the owner, nor lie to them and only the owner could remove the piece of jewelry. Draco remembered seeing a bracelet in his father's hidden study, where they had kept a lot of dark artifacts, he wondered if this was one of those bracelets.

Intrigued by the information, he sunk down onto the couch, sitting in the curled space made by her stomach; he was unaware he was sitting so close to her. The warmth from his body and shift of the couch roused Hermione from her sleep. She opened her eyes to find herself in the library, having forgotten she fell asleep there. Blonde hair caught her attention, she looked over to find Draco sitting on the couch with her absorbed in a book.

"Are you reading about the bracelet?" Hermione asked, stifling a yawn.

Draco jumped slightly at the break of silence, realizing he had woken her, "Oh sorry, I was reading and didn't think before I sat. But yea, I am reading about the bracelet, I'm wondering if we have one in the house somewhere actually."

"Really?"

"Yea, my father has a bracelet in one of his studies and there are a lot of dark artifacts in there. It could really be anything, I've never asked what it did, but maybe it's one of these."

"That's a scary thought, although I guess it's good that it's not in use right now."

"Yea, but if it was, it would be a lot easier to let you go; maybe that's why it's not being used," Draco mused. "It would be too easy to get away from."

"What do you mean, I didn't read too far into that book before I fell asleep," Hermione explained.

"Well, the bracelet will only work for someone who is pure of blood, in order to use the bracelet, the owner must offer up some of their blood. If the bracelet recognizes them as pure, the bracelet will open, ready to be used. And once it is closed, it needs the blood of its owner to be released; I'm not sure how you would pass on the bracelet to someone else, I haven't finished reading."

"So if that was being used, all I'd have to do was get some of your blood and I'd be free?" Hermione asked, wanting to clarify.

"That's what it sounds like, although you wouldn't be allowed to hurt me, so you'd have to figure something out. Or I could just give you freedom, clearly, if that was how we enslaved you."

"Well they did use your blood to bind me to you, I'm guessing so the spell would know who I was being bound to. I looked up what I could about the incantation, part of it sounded like nexi nexum which is Latin for enslave or bind. I also found coniunxi which means to connect in blood."

"I think the last part was something like, ave- aveum maybe, I'll admit I wasn't paying attention to what was being said, just what was happening. What does that mean?"

Hermione quickly sat up and looked through the books on the table, finding the one with Latin translations. Opening the book to the A section, the pair began looking for aveum or anything close it it.

"Oh, here it is: aevum also aevus meaning eternity or lifetime…" Hermione trailed off, did that really mean she'd be stuck like this forever?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is enjoying the story =) just wanted to say, I'm not good with Latin, so I'm not sure if I was using it properly, I'm not sure about the suffixes and everything so I apologize for any mistakes I made. Hope it doesn't take away from the story. I just looked up specific words and used the root.


	10. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione and Draco discuss coming up with a counter-curse; they even test how the spell works. Hermione finally asks her important question.

"Do you think that we can come up with a counter-curse for this? I mean, I haven't made many original spells, have you?"

"Well, I have come up with a few, nothing really complicated though, nor powerful. And this counter-curse is going to have to be powerful if it's going to work," Hermione admitted, blushing.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at that, you are quite brilliant," Draco praised, suddenly noticing how close they were, looking at the same book.

"Do you think we could come up with a spell? I mean, you've been really nice and all but, I'd rather not be magically bound to someone the rest of my life, at least not at 17," Hermione joked, trying to hold off her fear.

"Yea, that would be something wouldn't it, the Gryffindor Princess bound to a Slytherin Death Eater at such a young age. Even marriages can be terminated easier than this," Draco admitted with a smile.

Hermione laughed at her school nickname, unsure of how it got started, and who started it. "Oh that reminds me, I've got a nickname for you, and it's even a play on mine in a way, want to hear it?"

Draco nodded his head eagerly, not sure why he was feeling so excited.

"Well, I got it from a Muggle gambling saying, something which I find even more fitting," Hermione chuckled.

"Yea, years ago I might have been horrified to be named after anything Muggle. But if it's a gambling saying I might know it," Draco shared.

"Well I was thinking of calling you Ace, like my ace in the hole, since you're helping me," she revealed with a smile, waiting to see his reaction.

"I like that, Ace, that's a name reserved for someone cool. And you're Curlicue with your pretty curls."

"Or Cue for short, and you'd be…" Hermione started

"A?" Draco guess, the realization suddenly hitting him, "Oh, like Q&A, I like that. It reminds me of being at school, because everyone in Slytherin always came to me for answers."

"Exactly, I figured since we were the top two students in our class, it fit on all fronts, I'm glad you like it Ace," she finished, trying out the new name.

The both of them laughed and relaxed into the couch, for once feeling like they weren't trapped in the Manor with Death Eaters; it was a wonderful feeling. The pair of them began looking through the Latin translations, thinking of a way to make a spell to free her. Poppy found them there a little bit later, wondering why they hadn't called for breakfast.

"Oh hi Poppy, I forgot all about breakfast, although now that I think about it, I am rather hungry. Do you think we could have pancakes?" Hermione wondered.

Poppy nodded her head in response, pancakes would be easy. Poppy smiled at the pair and made her way to the kitchen.

"Do you think, that maybe the counter-curse would need blood, like the first spell? Hermione asked uneasily, not wanting to spill any more blood.

"I hope not, Dark Magic can require blood but not much Light Magic needs it. Although, it might be necessary to release the bind on you, hopefully we won't have to find out," Draco admitted.

Hermione nodded her head, unsure she could cast a spell requiring blood. Suddenly Hermione remembered what she had been thinking about the other night, wondering if she could ask Draco about it. She tried to put it from her mind as they ate a late breakfast together, just enjoying his company and his dedication to finding a way out for her.

"You know, I was wondering, what do you think I should say tomorrow, after I give the Weasley's your note?"

"Well, let's see," she mused, pulling the note out of her pocket, "'Dear Order Members, I, Hermione, want to tell you that due to some unforeseen circumstance, I am stuck at the Malfoy Manor. Draco has decided to help me escape. I want to ask that you please consider bringing Draco and Mrs. Malfoy under Order protection, they are willing to cooperate fully with us and help our cause. Without his help I would surely be dead by now, he is willingly passing on my messages in order to ease my burden. Yours, Hermione.' Most likely the first thing they are going to want to know is if it's true, and what unforeseen circumstance it is that is holding me here.

"Clearly they'll think I've been held hostage here, being abused and threatened into giving up information. So they'll wonder how it is that I've passed on these notes to you. It's best to be truthful, that You-Know-Who bound me to you. Maybe they'll even know what spell he used, if it's not one he created recently. They'll want to know why you changed your mind about being on his side."

"I can answer all of their questions I'm sure, I just don't want to say anything that might make them think I'm lying or hurting you. I don't want to make any more mistakes you know?" Draco told her.

Hermione looked at him with a sympathetic face, knowing it wasn't going to be that easy for him. He was essentially heading into the lion's den for her, they wouldn't be easy on him. At least this time she'd be with Mrs. Malfoy until he returned, that should keep her safe. Until Friday that is, then she'd be at the mercy of the enemy, especially Bellatrix; Hermione shuddered at the thought of being in the same room as her again, hand coming up to her neck.

"What's wrong Cue?" Draco asked, feeling her shudder next to him.

"I was thinking about Friday, and what might happen. I'll be in the same room as Bellatrix again, I don't know if I can face her," she confessed.

"I won't let her do anything to you, she'll taunt you, but it's my job to punish you how I see fit, not hers. She won't be able to torture you like last time, I think she wants to see if I'll do it more than to see you get punished really. She thinks I'm too soft, and wants me to be more like her."

"Your aunt is a psycho!"

"Imagine having her be related to you, of having to call her Aunt, knowing that you share the same blood."

"At least you are nothing like her, you turned out good Ace, believe me."

Draco nodded his head, feeling better after hearing her; it was good to know that someone saw him for him and not for his family. He was soon lost in his thoughts, mind wandering back to his mission. Hermione, it seemed, was able to read his thoughts, asking him a question.

"What is it that you do for the evil snake?"

"Well, usually I just deliver things, letters or packages. I usually have no idea what's in them, but sometimes I do. I know every time I go to Cobb & Webb's I'm delivering a list of items the Dark Lord wants. Every few days I'm sent there to pick up packages and bring them home or bring them to someone else. I don't know what the objects are, what they do, and I probably don't want to know. Other times I think I'm just passing on messages or battle plans. I think that he doesn't want to have any large meetings so that way we aren't all caught at the same time. And everyone is being kept in the loop via those messages, it would also make it hard for the Order to intercept the notes. If they did, they'd only get a small part of the larger picture, so I guess it's smart.

"I've never opened the packages, that would be a mistake, so I can't tell the Order what's in them or what is being planned, but I can tell them who I've delivered to and where I've met them. Do you think they'd accept that from me?"

"Anything you tell us would be a great help I'm sure. And maybe your mom knows more about it, since she talks with your father. And there might be more that you can tell us, that you don't think is important, or haven't even thought was significant."

"That's a good point, I guess I'll have to bring some of these books too, maybe that will help. I can tell them what kind of wards and enchantments we have at the Manor too, and how often the Dark Lord comes, no one but him can even Apparate into the Manor directly," Draco added, thinking of what else he might know.

"Draco, I want to ask a favor of you, even though you've already done so much for me," Hermione said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Is this the thing you were thinking about yesterday?"

"Yea, and I don't think I want an answer right away, so can I ask and have you promise not to mention it until after dinner? I'll be too embarrassed to talk about it I think, and I want you to think about it before you answer," Hermione told him shyly.

"Um sure, I'll do my best, I don't want you to be embarrassed," he tried to assure her.

Hermione took a deep breath before continuing, "Well um, I've been thinking about what happened with Lucius and um, what might have happened if you hadn't come in. And then I think about what might happen on Friday; I'm kinda a-a- virginwillyouhavesexwithmebeforethen? Hermione suddenly blurted out, face turning red.

Draco's eyes widened as he registered what she just told him, she was a virgin? As he thought about it, he wasn't entirely surprised, not because she was unattractive, but because she seemed to be the type that wouldn't have sex frivolously, it had to have meaning. Plus she had spent most of her older teenage years fighting evil, there really wasn't much time for such things. But she wanted him to take her virginity? Well, it wasn't like she could have Prince Charming come over for a visit, he realized; and she wanted it to happen on her own terms. He kept his promise and didn't respond right away, just nodded his head to assure her that he'd heard. He had a lot of thinking to do, was he capable of taking that from her, he really didn't deserve it.

Hermione willed her blush to go away, but at least Draco hadn't laughed at her. She thought he may have, her being a studious bookworm and a prude, of course she wouldn't have lowered herself by having sex, but he didn't say anything about her lack of sex being obvious. The old Draco would have given her endless amounts of grief for such a confession; he really had changed. She noticed the deep look in his eyes, he was seriously contemplating her question; she knew he probably didn't have qualms about her not being a Pureblood anymore, even Lucius didn't mind, as long as it was just sex. And Hermione tried to tell herself that's all it would be, just sex so that way if anything else happened, she wouldn't have that stolen from her as well.

Despite the heavy question hanging in the air, the pair managed to continue reading through the books. The found a few examples of spells similar to the Imperious Curse but not as strong, but those didn't come with any counter-curses either.

"Maybe, they are similar, I know that you can overcome the Imperious Curse if you have a strong enough will, do you think that may help here too?"

"You think you can overcome it by willing yourself free? You think it would be that easy?" Draco asked, hopeful.

"Might as well try it right? Order me to do something and I'll try to not to it."

"Um, okay, let's see," Draco paused, thinking of something easy to resist. "Go get me a glass of juice."

Hermione stood up and was halfway to the pantry before she realized she had even got up. When she tried to resist, it felt like she was watching herself from afar; she could easily think about sitting back down and ignoring the order but her body simply refused. It wasn't like when they learned about the curse in her 4th year, there was no voice telling her that she wanted to get the juice. There was just bodily obedience and nothing she could do about it

"That's interesting," Hermione shared as she handed him the glass.

"What is?"

"It's really nothing like the Imperious Curse. Remember when Professor Moody, well, the imposter Moody performed it on us a few years ago? That time I could hear his voice, repeating to me that I wanted to jump on the desk. I felt like jumping would be the most rewarding thing in the world, I wanted to jump."

"Yea, I do remember that, he had us all do some stupid things to show us how the curse worked. I also remember how it felt to cast it, it feels nothing like this," Draco reminded her somberly. He had used it on Madame Rosmerta last year, to get her to ambush a student.

"When I cast it, I remember having to focus, really focus on making her do what I wanted. Plus I had to be precise or she could have interpreted it a few different ways. Just now, I simply said I wanted juice."

"I had forgotten about that, it seems so long ago now. At first, I didn't even realize I had gotten up from the couch; then I told myself over and over that I didn't want to get the glass, but I got it anyways. There was no telling myself not to, it was like an out of body experience almost."

"Well, I guess it wasn't going to be that easy, too bad," he sighed.

"Maybe not, but at least we learned that it's not based the same as the Imperious Curse, that can help us when we come up with a spell."

Draco smiled at her, she was always looking on the bright side. No wonder she was so strong and a valued friend of Potter; him and Weasley must be beside themselves over her. He knew he would be if she had been her friend all those years; maybe if they had been friends, he wouldn't be here, and neither would she. Before either of them could say anything else, they heard a pair of doors open. Both of them froze, unsure what she should do, Poppy hadn't come to warn them, was she in trouble? Suddenly Narcissa came into the library, smiling at them both.

"Mother, you scared us half to death!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been brought to my attention, on the other site I've been posting my fics, that people feel Hermione's and Draco's nicknames for each other are... out of place to say the least, one person even flat out telling me they were crappy. I really don't care. I wanted something that I could use to show their new friendship and not have to use first names ALL THE TIME! But, as the story progressed, I did end up cutting out the nicknames, so if you don't like them, you only have to put up with them for a few chapters. Sorry if you don't like them, I really hope it doesn't dissuade you from continuing to enjoy the fic. I thought they were cute when I wrote them, despite being a little (okay, maybe a lot) OoC. Please continue to enjoy the fic and put up with my lame names, if that's the only thing you greatly dislike about the story, I hope that means I'm doing a good job =) Thanks for reading!!


	11. Favors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione and Draco get even closer and Narcissa comes to visit. How will that go over? And how will Draco respond to Hermione's question??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my longest chapters because I decided to include the fluffy sex scene between the two. If you don't want to read it, I marked it with a *Fluffy Sex Scene* so you can skip it. It takes us to the end of the chapter. This is my first time ever writing something like this so please keep that in mind, I was super embarrassed when I wrote it -blushes- otherwise, enjoy the chapter!

"Mother, you scared us half to death!"

"I thought Poppy was supposed to warn you if someone was coming?" Narcissa asked with a raised brow.

"Well, I told her if anyone with bad intentions was coming, I hadn't figured you'd come for a visit. But Poppy knows you are safe so you must have slipped through her wards."

"Draco, I know you know your mother quite a bit more than me, but in the future, we might all want a secret password, Polyjuice Potion does exist," Hermione cautioned

"I see now why you are called the brightest witch of your age, you should listen to her Draco. If your father had become suspicious of you, he might try to disguise himself. But rest assured, he still thinks you are a faithful follower."

"Yes, you are right, just on the off chance that Poppy's wards don't pick up on that. Hermione and I have nicknames for each other we could use, but what should we have with you, mum?" Draco asked, gesturing for his mother to sit with them.

"Well, considering we're thinking of defecting, maybe it should be Rhododendrons which mean beware, or possibly Hyacinth for sincerity," Narcissa offered.

"You really do know a lot about flowers Mrs. Malfoy, I had no idea flowers could mean so much. I mean I've heard about roses meaning love and friendship but nothing about those two flowers. No wonder you enjoy them so much," Hermione complimented.

"Thank you my dear, flowers are one of my passions. I'd be happy to tell you more tomorrow when we're out in the gardens," she told the younger witch, smiling at her. "I just wanted to come and visit with you before tomorrow, I didn't want our first, well, 'visit' to be unpleasant. I was hoping I could meet the girl that is helping my son to see the light as it were. Draco deserves more than this life, especially when I can't see this side winning, it's horrible what they do. I'm glad I never had to receive a Dark Mark, unlike my poor son," Narcissa reminisced, running her fingers through Draco's hair.

Draco rubbed his forearm, he could feel the Mark, even under his sleeve, he always felt it. He wanted the Dark Lord dead so the spell would be broken. "So I guess if we meet with each other, we can say one flower and in response we'll say the other, rhododendrons and hyacinths, both good choices."

Hermione felt herself relax, surprising herself. She had never really met Mrs. Malfoy before but she didn't really think she was very different from Lucius. But looking at her now, she could see just how much she loved her son; she was just a woman trying to do her best for her son. Maybe she couldn't stand up for Draco when his father had beat him, but she wasn't going to sit around and let him be a minion to the Dark Lord any longer. Hermione was grateful for that, she knew she had another ally in the house, there was someone else she could hide behind. A few nights ago she would have cringed at the thought of hiding behind anyone, she was a courageous Gryffindor after all, and now she was happy she wasn't alone. It didn't bother her that they were Malfoys, in dark times you depended on the people by your side, regardless of their past.

"Hermione dear, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything my family has put you through so far, and I wish there was something I could do to help. Just know that I promise to make it up to you however I can in the future."

"Mrs. Malfoy, it means a lot to me that you and your son are willing to help me and the Order. I feel so much better knowing that I have people to talk to here. I don't think I'd survive here if I was alone, I'd just collapse in on myself," Hermione shuddered at the thought.

Draco put his arm around her, trying to comfort her, still thinking about what she had asked him. He couldn't say no to her, she was trying to keep everything on her own terms, he just felt undeserving. Narcissa quietly observed the pair, not failing to notice just how close they appeared. She smiled to herself, maybe this young witch would be good for Draco; Narcissa was all too aware of how distressing situations could bring people together. Hermione had only been here since Sunday and she had seen a lot of change in Draco; she couldn't be happier. She knew that there was no forcing Draco to do something he was unsure of, but this girl opened his eyes without even trying.

"Hey mum, do you want to have lunch with us up here, or is Father expecting you?"

"No, he won't be home for awhile, he got called by Aunt Bella earlier. I'd love to have dinner with you, it's been so long since we've chatted."

Draco and Hermione smiled, happy to have another person to chat with while they ate. Draco even asked Poppy if she would eat with them; she was rather surprised but agreed, squeaking with delight. It was one of the best nights Hermione had experienced in the Manor so far, everyone was laughing and sharing happy stories from before the war. It was all too soon that Mrs. Malfoy excused herself to retire to the main part of the Manor.

"Your mom is much nicer that I thought Draco, I'll admit I didn't think much of her before, I hadn't had reason to. But she was really easy to talk to, making me feel welcome here, despite the circumstances," Hermione confessed.

"You know, I didn't think about her coming to meet you before tomorrow. At least know you know what she's really like, not what she may act like tomorrow."

"Yea, I never thought about that. I know you told me that she'd be acting but it might have been hard for me to connect with her despite that. You're mum is pretty brilliant herself. I can see where you got your brains from," Hermione laughed with a wink. She felt her cheeks color, did she just wink at him? And it was technically after dinner, was he going to say yes? Hermione tried not to fidget as she peeked up at him through her eyelashes.

Draco couldn't explain why his heart started beating faster when she had winked at him, it seemed so natural and he wanted to feel that again. He watched as she ducked her head, blushing at herself; the wink must have surprised her too. Then his stomach felt like it did a back flip when she peered up at him, shyly hiding behind her lashes. Before he knew what he was doing, his hand cupped her chin, slowly lifting her face. He looked deep into her eyes, he could see the warm anticipation in her eyes; she leaned closer to him her eyes closing. Draco softly brought his lips to hers, eyes closing in bliss, his thumb caressing her cheek.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, pulling him closer to her; she needed to be close to him. She could feel his free arm wrap around her waist, his other hand cupping the back of her neck. He slowly leaned her back, pushing her down on the couch, resting his weight on his arm. Hermione's fingers played with his soft hair as she reclined, moaning when Draco lightly sucked on her lower lip and massaged her side. He released her lip, moving his head to her ear, nibbling on it lightly and giving her chills, she wanted more. Moving his kisses down her neck, Draco lightly traced his tongue across her pulse; he smiled when she let out a throaty moan, deciding to be gentle with her. She brought up her leg, pressing it along his hip, silently asking him to come closer. Obliging her he pressed his hips into hers as he reclaimed her lips, licking her upper lip. Her mouth opened, shyly reaching her tongue out to meet his, her mind reeled at the sensations his tongue was causing as he slowly explored her mouth and caressed her tongue.

Draco pulled away slowly, opening his eyes to look at her, enjoying the flushed look on her cheeks. When she opened her eyes, she saw his grey ones looking back at her, she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Are you sure Hermione? I don't really feel like I deserve this; deserve to be the one you trust with your virginity," Draco whispered.

"I am sure, I want this with you," Hermione assured him. "My virginity is mine to give and I freely give it to you Draco."

Draco felt his heart swell at her words, did she really trust him to do this; the look in her eyes hinted that this was more than just first time sex to get it out of the way. Her next words confirmed his thoughts.

"You've become very important to me, I feel so connected with you and I can't explain it. This just feels right for me, I hope that doesn't sound too girly or emotional."

Draco smiled, he couldn't help but realize how adorable she was. He leaned down and kissed her again, wanted to assure her that she was fine, "It's perfectly alright, this is important for young women, and I feel honored."

Draco sat up, pulling her with him; as they stood he swept her up in his arms holding her firmly against his chest. Just then he realized how petite she was compared to him, she seemed so small and delicate in his arms, even though she was a fiery lioness. He looked into her eyes and saw apprehension and excitement, nuzzling her ear, he promised her they'd go slow. She nodded against his chest, trying to remember to breathe and relax. This was finally going to happen; she was giving herself to Draco and trusting him not to hurt her in the end.

They entered Draco's bedroom, Draco's softly closing the door with his foot before walking over to the bed. Laying her gently on the bed, he climbed next to her, kissing her and curling his fingers in her hair. He couldn't believe how much he wanted to touch her, her skin was so soft and delicate. It amazed him how girls could be so soft and gentle where he was lean and muscular, how they could taste so wonderful and intoxicating? Tonight he was going to show her how special she really was, she wasn't going to regret this decision.

*Fluffy Sex Scene*

Hermione boldly reached up under his shirt, feeling his toned stomach, gasping at herself; Draco claimed her lips, his tongue searching her mouth, playing with her tongue. He wrapped his arms around her waist and shifted his weight, settling her on top of him. Wrapping his fingers in her hair, he gently tilted her head and began nibbling on her neck, grazing her sensitive skin with his teeth. Hermione whimpered, biting her lip at the sensation; as he moved lower she could feel him unbuttoning her blouse with his free hand. His mouth found the tops of her breast, his tongue tasting her tender flesh; Draco completely unbuttoned her blouse, his hand now lightly cupping her bra clad breast. She could feel his thumb rubbing the fabric over her nipple and she lightly thrust her hips into his. Hermione sat up slightly, seeing the longing in Draco's eyes; she shyly shrugged her shoulders out of her shirt.

Draco felt his pulse quicken when finished taking her top off, her shy movements intrigued him and the flush on her cheeks excited him. He reached up and gently kneaded her breasts, they were just right, fitting in his hands. Sitting up slightly, he kissed her again, pulling her back down to his chest while his hands roamed her sides and stomach. Her shaky hands came up and fumbled with his buttons, wanting to see him without a shirt. When she finally undid all of the buttons, she sat back, pulling Draco into a sitting position. He helped her get his arms out of the shirt, tossing it on the floor before lying back on the bed.

She looked down at him, biting her lip feeling nervous; he brought his hands up to her thighs, massaging them, wanting her to relax. She blushed as she looked down at his muscular chest and abs, her fingers running down his chest. Leaning down, she bit his ear, his neck and his shoulders earning a moan from her partner. Draco's hands made their way to her behind, aggressively grabbing them and rocked his hips against her. Hermione arched her back, grinding her hips against his as he tightly to her hips. When she looked down at him with a coy smile, he moved his hands up her back, finding the clasp of her bra. In a practiced motion, he had the clasp undone and slowly pulled the straps down her arms. Her face flushed, she'd never been this naked in front of a guy before, what would he think?

"You're beautiful Hermione, absolutely beautiful," he whispered, raising his mouth to her peaked nipples.

A loud gasp reached his ears as his tongue played with her rosy nipples, moving from one to the other. He sucked on them lightly, seeing if she enjoyed the sensation; when he heard her whimper, he grinned, sucking with a little more force. He released her breasts, looking up at her, making sure she was still alright with this, she kissed him, running her tongue through his mouth, wanting more of him. Draco hugged her close to his body, once more flipping them, so he was on top again. Before Hermione could say anything, he began kissing her body, trailing down her neck, to her chest. As his lips caressed her nipples again, he slowly undid her pants; he moved his mouth down her stomach, leaving kisses all over.

Hermione lifted her hips to help him slide her pants off, leaving her in her underwear and feeling nervous again. He noticed and lay next to her, kissing her ear and running his fingers along her taut stomach.

"Have you ever been touched down there?" he whispered.

She shook her head, unable to speak, trying to remember to breathe. His fingers slid lowers, lightly rubbing the front of her panties.

"Not even by yourself?"

"N-no," she managed to squeak. She had often wondered what it would be like but always chickened out before doing anything.

"Allow me then."

Hermione took a gasp of air as she felt his hand slip under the fabric, fingers expertly finding her clit and rubbing in small circles. She could help but arch her back and groan at his touch, his teeth grazing her neck again. He slowly added a little pressure, listening to her breathing to gauge her reaction. After a moment, he slid his middle finger along her lips, groaning as he felt how wet she was, she wanted him badly.

He could feel her hands running through his hair, and down his shoulders as his kissed her, continuing to run his finger around her opening. He reminded himself that she hadn't done this before, he didn't want to go too fast. Between his mouth on her and his fingers on her clit, she was rocking her hips, wanting to feel more. He pulled away just a bit, to look into her eyes, she gave a slight nod. He smiled as he started to suckle on her lip, slowly reaching his index finger into her tight folds. He slowly worked his finger in and out, wiggling slightly; Hermione was unraveling under his touch. She had no idea this could feel so good, and this was just his finger. Moans and whimpers came out of her and he started stroking faster, hips rocking when he added another digit. She crushed her lips against his, fingers digging into his back, he moaned at her reactions. Slowly he pulled his fingers out, going back to rubbing her clit as he sat up. Despite her slight whimpers of protest, he removed his hand from her underwear; he stood up and undid his own pants, stepping out of them before climbing back onto the bed. He placed his hands on either side of her hips, ready to remove her panties, looking at her and waiting.

She paused, realizing just how completely naked she was about to be. Her toes wiggled against the bed, suddenly nervous and unsure.

"It's okay Cue, I'll be gentle," Draco assured her.

That was the reassurance she needed, she relaxed a bit and smiled, remembering how he had made her feel just moments before. Lifting her hips, she gave him permission to remove her last article of clothing. As her panties joined the rest of the clothes on the floor and Draco raised her ankle to his lips, placing a light kiss there. She couldn't help but giggle as he slowly placed kissed up her calf, her knee and up her thigh. He paused at her hips, nibbling the soft skin of her inner hip, then continuing his caresses upward. When he got to her lips, he kisses her so softly, a silent promise that she'd be alright. He settled his weight on his arms, body positioned over hers, his erection pressing against her. He continued to cover her mouth with kisses as he reached down with on hand, rubbing her clit again, preparing her a little. As she started to rub herself against him, he asked if she was ready. When she nodded, he positioned himself at her entrance, slowly pushing in until he felt the slight resistance. Hermione whimpered slightly at the pressure, squeezing his shoulders, she jumped slightly when she felt his breath on her ear.

"Relax, open your legs a little bit. When it starts to hurt a little more, just bite my shoulder, okay? I'll go fast and get it over with," Draco whispered, his voice husky with want.

She nodded, and adjusted her legs, taking a deep breath and willing her body to relax. She thought about Draco's strong body over her, protecting her, his gently caresses and reassuring words. When Draco felt her relax slightly, he pushed further in, feeling her tight walls around him, the small membrane tearing. He her whimper slightly, her fingers tensed but she didn't cry out, he stayed still for a few moments, letting her adjust to him inside of her. Slowly her fingers relaxed, it wasn't quite as painful as she had been expecting, but still uncomfortable to say the least. As she began to relax against him, she felt him slowly pull out and push back in. After a few repetitions, her body began to relax at the sensation, Draco easing her body more when he reached down, rubbing her sensitive spot.

Hermione moaned, feeling the excitement build in her body again, soon she was thrusting her hips in time with his, slowly building momentum. She began to gasp as she felt a strong pressure deep in her groin, wanting him to go faster. Her whimpering and frantic kisses spurred Draco into a faster pace, wanting her to feel release. He sat back a little, so he could watch her face, one hand fondling her breast and the other supporting his weight. There was a beautiful flush to her cheeks, creeping down her neck, her mouth open in ecstasy. She surprised him when she lifted one leg and wrapped it around his waist, pulling him in closer. He felt himself losing control, her tightness was almost too much for him. He thrust faster, deeper while her moans grew louder, and her back arched.

Her eyes flew open as she felt the pressure build up right before releasing, a scream tearing out of her throat suddenly. She felt amazing, eyes fluttering and body shaking, he heard Draco groan and he thrust deep into her one last time. He was panting, nuzzling her neck as he felt her body tense and flutter against him. Slowly her body relaxed, her leg releasing his waist as it fell back onto the bed; he kissed her neck as he tried to regulate his breathing. He rolled to his side, bring her with him so she was laying on his chest, relaxed and happy. Rubbing his hands in small circles on her back, he hid his face in her hair, amazed at what just happened. Hearing a sniffle, he opened his eyes, turning his head.

"Cue, you okay?"

"Yea, I am, I promise. I'm just having a girly moment," Hermione sniffled. She couldn't believe she was crying, how embarrassing! But she did just have sex for the first time, and it was sweet and with someone that cared for her. She'd heard a lot of stories about the first time being really awkward and unfulfilling but she didn't that way at all. It had been amazing. Grateful that he hadn't made a big fuss about her crying, she lay there in his arms, listening to his strong heartbeat, relaxing as he rubbed her back. She was vaguely aware that Draco had shifted them, so she was cuddled in his arms, under the sheets; turning her head so she could continue listening to his heart, she smiled.

"Thank you," she mumbled, before drifting off to sleep.

Draco looked down at the small witch in his arms, he loved the way she felt, cuddled against his chest. When he heard her whisper thank you, his pulse quickened, he felt so lucky in that moment. As she drifted off to sleep, he slowly reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his wand. With a few quick waves he had them both cleaned up and cast a Contraceptive Charm, he was sure neither of them wanted such a complication. He put his wand away and snuggled back up to the witch, quickly falling asleep.


	12. Alone at the Manor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione spend some time together in the morning before he leaves. Then it's time for Draco to get to work and time for Hermione to sit with Narcissa, how will things go?

*Thursday Morning*

Draco groaned as the sun snuck through the blinds and into his eyes, he snuggled his face into the pillow in front of him and smelled something fruity. When he groggily opened his eyes, he saw a mass of curls in front of him, suddenly remembering that Hermione was in his bed. He grinned wildly as he nuzzled her neck, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to him. Feeling content with her in his arms, he wanted nothing more than to lay with her all day. With a sigh he slowly sat up, kissing her on the cheek and smoothing her hair behind her ear.

"Hey Curlicue, good morning, time to get up," he whispered as he traced her ear with his lips.

She snuggled closer to his warmth, not wanting to wake up just yet. She smiled as she felt his lips on her ear, then giggled as his fingertips brushed her ribs lightly and finally opened her eyes.

"Okay I'm awake silly, why are we up so early?"

"Well, I have to get ready to go soon, I have an early meeting with some lowly Snatchers and then I'm going to 'take some personal time' at a massage parlor, and then I'm coming home to order my slave around, I've got a full day you know," Draco kidded.

"Massage parlor huh? I'm not surprised," she laughed, sticking her tongue out at him.

"I figure that would be a good reason why I was gone so long, you know after a long week of trying to break you and whatnot," he chuckled, then becoming serious, "I didn't want to leave and then have you wake up here alone. Come have breakfast with me? Then you can go back to sleep if you want for a little bit. I can have Poppy wake you."

"No, I'll stay up, I have a feeling Lucius might just be waiting for you to leave here. Will your mom be up this early?"

"Yea, she's an early riser, but by the time we finish breakfast she should be ready. I'll tell you to go on to my mother before I leave, so that way Father can't pull you away from her. The order should protect you until I get back, is that okay Cue?"

"Yea that's fine, he'll assume you ordered me to do something specific up here and then reinforced it before you left."

"Come on, let's go take a shower," Draco winked at her, climbing out of the bed and headed into the bathroom.

Hermione blushed at the familiarity but couldn't help but grin as she remembered last night. She quickly followed him into the shower, stepping into the blissfully warm water. Draco heard the door open and turned around, slightly surprised she had joined him. He pulled her further into the shower, water positioned to spray on the bench that was still there.

"Here, have a seat, relax," Draco hummed in her ear, beginning to rub small circles on her shoulders.

Hermione leaned back, enjoying the slight pressure of his fingers on her muscles. His hands slowly went higher, massaging her neck and then her scalp Hermione sighed at his touch, it was amazing how deft he was with his fingers. He felt him twist and reach for a bottle, popping it open, the scent of honey pear reaching her nose.

"Is that my shampoo?" she asked as he started to massage it into her hair.

"Yup, I'm assuming Poppy brought it over some time, she's really perceptive. I'm sure your lotion is on the counter too," he answered, loving the feel of her hair. He spared a moment to wonder when he had turned into a sap, but brushed the thought away. He was happy, that's all he wanted.

Hermione felt spoiled as Draco continued to wash her body, it felt like she was being intently studied by his hands and she wasn't embarrassed in the least. What amazed her that there wasn't anything sexual about what he was doing; he peppered her shoulders, neck, and lips with small kisses but kept his touches light. She felt shivers run up and down her spine as she remembered the way his hands caressed her body last night; the way he touched her made her special. When she was all clean, he turned and started to wash his own hair, but Hermione interrupted him, lathering up and running her soapy hands down his chest, wanting to return the favor.

"Quidditch has really been good to you Ace, you're so lean, with hard, defined muscles. I never would have imagined you looked like this under your school robes."

He heard the hitch in her breathing, her hands shaking slightly; leaning down he kissed her forehead, taking her hands in his. Her hands were tender and elegant, easily fitting into his larger ones. He moved her hands over his body, encouraging her experimental touches; Draco resumed washing his hair, loving the feel of her small hands roaming his body. Once he rinsed his hair, he took her in his arms, holding her close to his chest.

"Come on, let's dry off and get some food, I'm feeling pretty hungry now, what about you?"

Hermione giggled and nodded her head, she could use some food. When they stepped out of the shower he handed her a towel before wrapping one around his waist. Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, he left her to her after shower routine and dried off in his room. After he dressed, he called Poppy in to see for breakfast, asking Hermione what she wanted. He sat on his bed as he waited for Hermione to finish up; after shower rituals could be important to young women and he didn't want her to feel insecure about her tendencies. When she finally appeared, wrapped in a towel, she looked radiant; he'd have to tell Poppy to make sure she always had anything she needed, she was stunning.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about how wonderful you look," he replied honestly.

Hermione blushed as she made her way to the door, heading to her room to get dressed. Draco followed her, waiting outside her door, calling out to her.

"I've always wondered, why is it that girls think they need to wear a lot of makeup? You never seem to wear any and you look so amazing."

"I've honestly wondered the same thing, I mean, it takes so much effort. I spend enough time getting out of the shower. But some girls like it, it makes them feel more confident I suppose."

"But that's just you taking care of yourself, that's why you're so soft to touch. I'm glad you don't wear makeup, I get to see the real you," he finished as she returned to the hall.

"I never thought I'd hear you sound so, so happy Draco, if the boys at Hogwarts could hear you now."

"I can admit to being happy, and appreciating a beautiful witch; I'll admit to feeling a little sappy lately but, this is all new to me. You're just special I guess," he told her with a sincere smile.

The duo went and ate breakfast in the sunroom, enjoying each other's company. Hermione hadn't believed in all the mushy tales of falling in love with the first guy you slept with; she hadn't thought she'd feel even closer to Draco after last night, but she did. She keep these feelings to herself as they ate, not wanting to scare him or push him away. The way his larger frame covered her, she had felt so safe cuddled up to him last night. Hopefully these feelings would sort themselves out before too long; she didn't want to get hurt when this was all over.

Draco was having similar thoughts, he hadn't wanted his feelings to grow, he didn't want to ruin the budding friendship they had been building. Hermione trusted him last night, and now he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to her now. She didn't seem to mind their closeness this morning, but he didn't want to expect more of her if she wasn't wanting or ready to give it. He figured they'd have the day to sort out their feelings and talk about it later.

"All done? I guess we should head towards the main hall, Mother is probably waiting for us and I've got to get going."

"Should I change?"

"Oh, I hadn't even thought of that but I suppose you should, just so no one thinks you're being treated too well. I'll meet you at the doors," Draco told her as she went back into her room to change.

As Hermione pulled out her slave outfit, she noticed that all the buttons were back in place, wondering if Poppy had fixed it for her. Quickly pulling it on and trying to stretch it as far as it would allow, she went back and met Draco in the hall.

"Good luck today, Mum will protect you Cue," he assured her.

"Good luck to you too, let me know how the meeting goes," she replied, giving him a kiss.

They both tried to hide their smiles as they went down the stairs, Draco grabbing her wrist as they neared the bottom.

"Okay you, I'm leaving now, go be with Mother until I get back," Draco ordered her.

Hermione managed to squeak out a timid 'yes Master' before he let go of her. He wanted to look back at her as he walked to the front door but knew better, she'd be safe with his mom until he returned. Hermione's feet quickly found their way to Mrs. Malfoy's sitting room, the older witch was sitting on one of the couches waiting for her.

"Ah Granger, I take it my son has finally left?"

"Yes ma'am, he asked me to help you with your hyacinths in the garden today," Hermione replied, remembering what the three of them had discussed the other day.

Narcissa smiled at her a moment before answering, "Yes, that will be nice, we can also prune the rhododendrons, they are in need of it."

Hermione relaxed slightly, just knowing that Mrs. Malfoy was herself. The pair of them quickly made their way through the house and out into the garden, the sun just warm enough to be without a coat.

*Meeting with the Snatchers*

Draco stood in a darkened street along Knockturn Alley, waiting for the Snatchers to appear. He didn't have to wait long before two darkly dressed wizards turned down the street.

"Malfoy?"

"Yea, what was so important?"

"We was just wantin' to know, when we getting paid?"

"Paid? For what exactly?"

"Well we've brought in quite o' few o' them outlaws, blood traitors and Muggle-borns. We've been doin' our job, so when we getting paid?"

"As far as I'm concerned I don't care, I'm not in charge of that crap," Malfoy sneered.

"Well we suggest you find out for us then," demanded the heavier Snatcher, stepping closer to Malfoy.

"Well then, I'll just call my Aunt down here shall I? She'll be happy to clear this up I'm sure."

Both of the Snatchers looked at each other, scared. No one wanted to mess with Bellatrix Lestrange, that was asking to be tortured.

"Even if you do get paid for every single body you bring in, I suggest you bring it up with the people you deliver to, not to me. Such a waste of my time!" Draco hissed, turning away from the Snatchers. Just then he saw a flash of red hair, a few alleys away. Once they made eye contact, the Weasley walked further into the shadows. They were waiting for him to come; he'd have to get the Snatchers out of here before he made contact.

"Hey, wait a minute there Malfoy," one of them called out. "Yo-you ain't really gonna call your aunt right? I mean, we're clear right? We'll just bring this up back at the Ministry, no worries."

"Yea, we're clear, just don't waste any more of my time," he barked over his shoulder, walking away. When he heard the two of them Disapparate, he quickly strode over to the last place he saw red hair. As he walked further into the shadows, he felt hands roughly pull him off his feet; he started to struggle before realizing he should cooperate. He was shoved through an open door, into an abandoned shop; he could smell the musty air.

"Sit him down Bill," he heard one of the wizards say.


	13. Surprise, Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione and Narcissa run into some trouble... And Draco explains things to the Weasleys

*Back at the Manor*

Narcissa lead the younger witch to her garden, smiling as she gazed upon the flowers. She called for an elf to bring her the gardening supplies. Within moments both witches had gloves and pruning shears.

"Have you ever cared for a garden before?"

"Not my own, I mean, I've helped Professor Sprout in Herbology but that's about all my experience ma'am"

"It's not difficult if you know what to look for," Narcissa started. In the next few minutes, Narcissa was showing her how to clip a withering blossom from the plants as well as to check for healthy stems and leaves. Hermione slowly got the feel for pruning, occasionally asking the older witch about the flowers.

Within an hour Hermione had learned a lot about the various flowers in the garden, what they meant to Narcissa and why she had picked them. She had never been one to care for flowers, but hearing Mrs. Malfoy talk about them, she began to appreciate them, understanding why Narcissa cared for them so much. In her garden, she could plant whatever she wanted, leaving behind hidden messages of loyalty and innocence, weaving a story just for herself.

The pair had just sat down, getting ready to eat lunch when they heard someone approach, heads turning towards the sound of footsteps. Hermione instantly stood up, eyes downcast waiting for someone to speak.

Narcissa spoke up first, "Why Draco, I'm surprised you are back so soon."

"I took care of the Snatchers fairly quickly and wasted no time in coming home. I'm astounded you've let the Mudblood dine in your presence, quite the surprise."

Hermione's breath hitched, Draco wouldn't have said that, was his father close by? Was he trying to warn them? Narcissa just narrowed her eyes as she looked at the boy standing there.

"Well, I didn't want her to sit on my beautiful flowers, so of course I told her to sit at the table here, and I couldn't ignore her growling stomach. I thought if I didn't feed her, you'd be angry with me, after all, you seem to be taking care of her rather well Son."

"That is a good point Mother, I'm sorry for my tone. Come along Slave, it's time we left Mother alone," Draco ordered, waiting for the girl to join his side.

"But Draco, wouldn't you stay and admire my hyacinths? They're blooming nicely aren't they?" Narcissa asked, wary of her son's behavior.

"Of course Mother, your garden has always been quite beautiful but there are thing I wish to attend to and I need the Mudblood to do her job."

Hermione's head snapped up, eye wide in terror. The way he said those words, they were just like what Lucius had said to her. And he didn't say the password, what did that mean? She turned towards Mrs. Malfoy, unsure of what she was to do, but the other witch was looking at her son.

"I would rather appreciate it if I could borrow her for just a little longer, I still need to fertilize the garden and I'm sure she could work much faster than the house elves do."

"Maybe next time, Mudblood, come here!" he ordered.

But Hermione stayed rooted to the spot, afraid to follow him, this was wrong, all wrong.

"You still dare to defy me? It seems like I have a lot of work to do before tomorrow. We'll start right now, Crucio!" Draco hissed.

Hermione closed her eyes waiting for the pain to come. She dropped to the ground as her muscles tightened but the sensation wasn't overly painful. Suddenly her muscles relaxed, and the sound of yelling came to her ears.

"Lucius? LUCIUS! How dare you?" Narcissa was screeching.

Was Lucius here? Where had he come from? He had to have been the one to curse her, she had heard his voice, there was no mistaking it.

Vaguely she could hear more bickering around her, mind still fuzzy and confused, but then she heard a name she recognized-

"Poppy, come here." A slight pause before the elf Apparated. "Help the girl and stay with her until I get back. I don't want her running off. I need to have a word with my husband!"

"Yes Mistress."

Hermione looked up as the little elf came over to her and helped her to sit up. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Narcissa striding into the house, a sullen Draco following her. Looking to Poppy for answers, Poppy looked just as confused.

*In the House*

"Lucius what are you thinking?" Narcissa demanded to know.

"How did you know it was me?"

"You think I wouldn't recognize your voice when you cast that curse? I've heard you say that hundreds of times," his wife admonished.

"Well she wasn't obeying me, I guess I forgot to control my voice," Lucius shrugged, still disguised as Draco.

"I'm assuming you brewed some Polyjuice Potion?"

"Yes, we had made some for a few of the Snatchers earlier and I kept some for myself."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to teach that Mudblood a thing or two," Lucius answered.

"You know that girl is important to the Dark Lord, that's why he hasn't had her killed yet. What do you think would happen if He found out you tried something like this? He dotes upon Draco, he offered that Granger girl up as a gift for killing Dumbledore and being a faithful Death Eater. She is his responsibility, he's in charge of her, not you," Narcissa raged.

"Quite frankly, I don't think our son is up for the job, you saw how she disobeyed an order!" Lucius countered.

"You didn't give her much time to react, you are so impatient!"

"Then Draco needs to be quicker on the punishment, she shouldn't have any hesitations, an order is an order and she needs to snap to it!"

"How Draco decides to punish her is completely up to him, stop trying to interfere or I'll tell the Dark Lord myself," she warned.

"Would you really?" Lucius questioned his wife, a dangerous look on his face.

"I would, if it meant you'd stop hurting Draco's chances. I'm sure you've realized by now that entrusting the girl to our family is a very big deal. If word got out that she was seriously injured or no longer of any use, the Dark Lord would be very unhappy. Your methods are a bit too harsh for someone her age. I'm sure He had that in mind when he assigned Draco to be her owner and not you. He passed you over for a reason," Narcissa spat out, disgusted with her husband.

"How dare you-"

"No, how dare you!" she interrupted. "You're the one that relentlessly tortured that other witch and turned her into a blubbering mess, just like Bella did with the Longbottoms. Sometimes you don't know when to quit, just like my sister. Not everyone is alive for you to torture mercilessly; we need that girl alive and responsive for the Dark Lord to continue to favor our son, is that clear?"

"My darling wife, you are treading a very fine line right now, I am the Head of this house and I make the rules, do you understand?"

Narcissa just stood her ground, chin held out defiantly. She wasn't going to back down, not this time; Hermione was her son's only hope at salvation. She didn't even cry out in pain when Lucius slapped her, instead she just raised an eyebrow, questioning his strength.

"Dear husband, as much as you loathe admitting it, I am correct in this matter. Draco is the right person to be handling the girl's development."

"You honestly think that he'll be able to turn her against her friends?"

"Probably not, but at least she'll still be of service if the Dark Lord needs her."

Lucius snarled at his wife, ready to hit her again but he calmed himself; she was right of course. The Dark Lord still had a use for the girl, one they weren't privy to just yet. But if he went and did something too drastic, he might spoil the plan. He was still trying to rebuild his standing after what happened at the Ministry a couple of years ago.

"I'll reign myself in, for now Narcissa. I'll admit I can't control myself around such young things," Lucius admitted, giving his wife a disdainful look. "But remember your place or next time I won't be so nice."

As he strode out of the hallway, still masquerading as Draco, Narcissa let out a deep breath. Lucius was a force to be reckoned with, she had learned long ago that is was dangerous to upset him. She lifted a hand to her cheek as she made her way back out to the gardens to check on Hermione.

*Abandoned Shop*

He was guided to a chair and pushed into it, Bill apparently, standing behind him, wand raised. Someone else lit a fire in the corner of the room, lighting everyone up, Draco recognized one of the twins standing by the fire, as well as an older man, Arthur Weasley, standing in front of him.

"Hand over your wand Mr. Malfoy, nice and easy," Mr. Weasley asked.

Draco slowly reached into his robes and pulled out his wand, holding it out for Mr. Weasley to take.

"What have you done with Hermione," the twin demanded, striding forward.

"Fred, please, calm down."

"Ah, where is George? I didn't think you two would be separated," Draco joked lightly.

Fred sneered at him before turning away, not giving away where George was. Draco was at least glad to have a name for the Weasley that had been following him around, Bill, good to know.

"We received your note from the other day, many of our members confirm that it was indeed Hermione's writing. Please tell us what is going on Mr. Malfoy," Arthur suggested, taking a seat.

"Well, first, I've been instructed to give you this note before saying anything," Draco explained as he slowly reached into his robes again.

"Easy there, don't move another inch," Bill told him, jabbing his wand into his back.

Draco gritted his teeth as he pulled his hand back, Hermione was right, they weren't very welcoming. Bill reached over his shoulder, flipping open his robes and searching his pockets. When he found the note, he held it out towards his father, giving Draco one last jab in the back.

Arthur quickly opened the letter and read it aloud so his sons could hear. As he read it, Fred glanced at Draco, unsure what to think of him.

"What exactly is Hermione talking about?"

"Well, um, about that," Draco nervously cleared his throat. "When she and the others were brought to the Manor, my Aunt Bellatrix was able to prevent Hermione from being rescued with the others. The Dark Lord was angry with everyone for letting Potter escape, but he didn't exactly take it out on Hermione-"

"Oh, she's Hermione to you? You don't deserve to say her name you snake!" Fred snarled.

"What would you have me call her?" Draco countered with a raised brow.

Arthur stopped the argument with a raise of his hand, "Go on Malfoy."

"He knew that Hermione would never betray her friends or the Order. He also thought that senselessly torturing her would be a waste, but of course he didn't want to just kill her, not when she was so valuable. Um, he," Draco paused, rubbing the back of his neck. He was concerned of how they'd take the news. "He, bound Hermione to me."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"She's, stuck at the Manor, as my sl-slave," Draco rushed, closing his eyes at the expected onslaught.

"WHAT?!"

"Give me one good reason not to kill you right here Malfoy!"

"Because I'm Hermione's only chance," Draco yelled, turning to face the Weasley behind him. "I've been trying to help her, I don't want this! Like her letter said, I'm trying to help her escape, she doesn't deserve this."

"How do we know we can we trust you?"

"I'm willing to take Veritaserum, although we all know it's not completely trustworthy, there is an antidote and one can build up immunity to it. But I'm willing to take it. But regardless of what we do here, I have to return to the Manor, and no one can know I was with you. If I don't return, Hermione is going to be at the mercy at my Father, and I refuse to let that happen," Draco spat out vehemently.

Fred heard the malice in the blonde's voice, stepping closer to him and crouching down in front of him.

"What will happen to her if we don't let you return?"

"They'll assume I've been captured, possibly dead. They might think you'll want to trade me for her. But before they make any decisions, Hermione will be passed onto my father, or maybe some other Death Eater, you don't want to know what they'll do to her," he whispered, remembering the scared Hermione he found in his bed. "My father, he, already tried to rape her."

"Why did you allow that?" Fred hissed, jumping up and wrapping his hand around Malfoy's throat.

"I wasn't home, he waited until I was gone, it was on Tuesday, when I was out running errands. I had no idea he'd try something like that. As a rule, Hermione is seen as my property, he should have known better than to try anything. I thought she was safe," Draco confessed, looking Fred in the eyes.

"Then what about today? What's going to happen to her?" Arthur interrupted, pulling his son away from Draco.

"I left her with my mother, she knows that I want to help Hermione escape, she's more than willing to help protect her. She doesn't believe in what the Dark Lord is doing either, she just got pulled into it because of Father."

"Her note did say that she wanted us to protect you and your mother, so she is willing to cooperate, she fully understands the situation?"

"Yes she does, she wants to help in whatever way she can. As do I. I've tried to be as accommodating to Hermione as I could. I haven't ordered her to do anything, I give her space, I'm even trying to help come up with some sort of counter-spell to free her, although we haven't had much luck at all. I even offered to pass on those notes to you. I know you may not trust me, you've had one of your sons following me all over the place, but I do want to help."

"We haven't had Bill following you because we don't trust you," Mr. Weasley confessed.

"What are you talking about?"

Fred smirked, answering for his father, "You don't know much about your own team players do you?"

"Fred, I don't think now is the right time," Arthur started.

"Why not, he seems like he's worried about our Hermione," Fred countered.

"It's not the right time. We'll discuss it later."

Draco looked between the two Weasley's wondering what they meant and what it had to do with him.

"Mr. Malfoy, we can't discuss much here, what's important is we now know what is happening with Hermione. I'll have to talk it over with the other members of the Order but I'm willing to consider offering you and your mother protection, if you can bring Hermione back to us."

"Thank you," Draco sighed, relieved that they believed him, at least somewhat.

He slowly stood as the two older Weasley's went to the door, checking to see if the coast was clear. Fred came up to Draco, grabbing the front of his robes, "If anything, and I mean anything happens to her, I'll kill you myself, got it?"

"If anything happens to Hermione, I'll already be dead," Draco explained.

Fred eyes him for a moment longer before releasing his robes, extinguishing the fire as he walked away. In the moment, Draco just wanted to return to the Manor and check on her, hoping everything turned out alright. He stayed where he was as he watched the Weasley's discuss the next steps they should take, he wondered if he'd be meeting with them still or if they'd send someone new. Finally Fred came back over to him and explained what was to happen next.

"So, we're going to let you walk out of here first, Dad says that either he or Bill will contact you the next time you're here in London so keep an eye out. Between now and then, we'll alert the other members of the situation and have more to tell you after that; for now, that's all we can tell you," Fred told him quietly. Draco nodded his head in understanding before he continued, "And one other thing, I want you to give this to her, it's from me and George."

Draco looked down at the letter the twin was holding out, along with his wand, grabbing it and tucking it into his robe; he gave another curt nod, promising she'd get it. With that Fred lead him to the side door and stepped back so no one would see him when the door opened. Draco quickly straightened his robes and exiting the building, walking further into the main alley before turning and Apparating back home.


	14. Good News?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Narcissa explains to Hermione what had really happened, then the real Draco comes home. They have a lot of things to think about

*At the Manor*

Narcissa found Hermione sitting at the table with Poppy holding a glass of water. The young witch's head snapped around when she heard footsteps approaching her, eyes full of suspicion. Narcissa quickly took up the seat opposite of Hermione, talking in a hushed voice when Poppy disappeared back into the Manor.

"Hermione, it appears we were correct in coming up with safe words, and none too soon. That was not my son but my husband who came out here moments ago. He decided to take some Polyjuice Potion and masquerade as Draco, in order to try and finish what he started. Lucius has a nasty habit of 'losing control' when he is around witches like yourself, a horrific pastime of his that he throws in my face every chance he gets. I apologize that you have to go through this."

"He does this a lot?"

"It saddens me to admit but yes. He is much like my sister Bella, although not nearly as unbalanced as her. He still does enjoy other peoples' pain, especially of the intimate nature when it comes to witches. Lucius also gets satisfaction by shaming me, telling me I'm no longer appealing to him in that way. I've gotten over such barbs long ago but I haven't been able to protect the witches he sets his sights on."

"He's a very sick man, why are you still with him?"

"Well, now that the Dark Lord is back, it's not safe for me to leave, especially with Draco hanging in the balance. I'm not from a generation that throws away marriages, especially as a witch, there are different standards for Pureblood marriages. Love isn't often required for marriage, although at first Lucius wasn't so bad. And the first few years after the Dark Lord fell he was amiable again, but after his return, his darker side came out once more, worse than before. He is no longer the man I married, and I have to face that now. Maybe you coming here was a sign for us, to redeem ourselves."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, I want to help you, both of you. I'm sorry that things are the way they are, that you have this darkness looming in your house," Hermione said.

"I'm the one who should be sorry, you're an innocent girl trapped in this place, with that very darkness trying to corrupt you. I'm glad that Lucius didn't get away with his plan just now," Narcissa responded, covering Hermione's hand with her own.

"We'll all get through this together, once we get away from the Manor I think things will be easier, we just need hope."

Narcissa smiled, she had held on this long, she could wait a little longer to get Draco out of this dark place. The pair enjoyed a moment of silence before returning to their unfinished meal. Narcissa hoped that tomorrow would pass quickly; there was no telling what Lucius and Bella would make Draco do tomorrow, what humiliation they'd want to subject Hermione to. She didn't have long to dwell on that subject before Draco came striding towards them once more.

As Draco entered the courtyard, he saw his mother and Cue sitting at the small table, eating lunch. With a heavy sigh, he threw himself down onto a chair, he felt exhausted. The Weasley's seemed open enough to the idea of protecting him, but what about the rest of the Order, would they agree? And even if they did, how soon could he get Hermione out of here, let alone be able to break the spell placed on her. And of course, tomorrow he still had to face his father and his aunt, he had to break her in front of her enemies and he really didn't think he could do it.

"Hello Mother, Curlicue. How was everything while I was gone?" Draco asked, resting his chin in his hand.

"Well Draco, don't you look worn out, you didn't even notice the garden."

His eyes turned towards his mother, unsure of why she was bringing up the garden right now. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, he remembered what the three of them discussed.

"I'm sorry Mother, I've just had a long day, forgive me. You've done a beautiful job, the hyacinths are coming in nicely this year. I've missed seeing you in the garden."

At his words, he saw both witches collapse with relief, his mother reaching over and patting his hand.

"Did something happen while I was away?" he asked, looking between the two witches.

"You could say that," Hermione said with a scowl.

Draco tensed, "Tell me."

"Well it would seem as though your father has set his sights on Hermione and simply refuses to listen to reason. Just after we started lunch, he came out here, ordering Hermione to go back inside," Narcissa began.

"Why would he think Hermione would listen to him?"

"That would be because he decided to take some Polyjuice Potion and pretend to be you. He didn't need to try hard to disguise his voice, but his mannerisms were quite unlike yours. Well, they were unlike how you act around me in private."

Draco paled, would his father ever stop? Why did Hermione mean so much to him? "What happened?"

Hermione told him, deciding to spare Narcissa, "Well he said something about me having to finish a job, which was my first clue something was wrong. I was too confused to understand what was going on at first. Narcissa was trying to come up with reasons to let me stay, obviously aware of your change in attitude, that and the fact you never actually said anything about the flowers. He was adamant about me leaving with him, even ordering me to go with him. When I refused, he cursed me, saying that I really needed to work on obeying orders. I'm not really sure about what happened right after that though, I'm still piecing it all together."

"I was thinking that perhaps, you had returned and that your father had spoken to you, or maybe was watching. Then I thought you had been Imperioused by Lucius, but of course you were too aware of your surroundings for that. It was when he cursed her that I realized what he did, I've heard him cast that curse countless times, I recognized him immediately at that point and started yelling at him. Before I left I called Poppy to look after her, we've only been out here for a few minutes, talking about the situation before you arrived. The real you this time," Narcissa finished.

"Father is making life difficult right now, my head is starting to pound, Poppy might have to bring me a potion later."

Hermione sighed, "Me too. It's been a long day and it's only halfway over."

"Let's head back inside, Poppy can bring you up some lunch if you want, I think it's best if we get Hermione back into your wing of the house."

Hermione agreed, she felt much safer behind those doors where she knew Poppy had set up some wards. The three of them quickly went inside, herding Hermione up the stairs, keeping an eye out for Lucius. Once they were in the third floor wing, Hermione excused herself to go change back into her clothes while Draco and Narcissa went and sat in the library to talk.

"Why is Father doing this?"

"For some reason, he just seems to want Hermione, it's been awhile since he's had a young witch as a 'plaything' so she must be driving him mad. Plus I'm sure he feels like less than a man now that you have more favor than him, so he might be trying to step on your toes. I hope I set him straight this afternoon. I told him that I'd go to the Dark Lord and explain how Lucius has been interfering with her. He seemed to understand the implications of that, so hopefully he'll behave himself."

Draco shook his head, "Not tomorrow he won't, I'm sure of it. He's going to try to do everything he can to embarrass me and hurt her. I don't think I can do this."

"I'll be there as well, so I might be able to dissuade him from making you do some things, although I doubt I'll have any say when it comes to Bellatrix. I just hope they'll be satisfied and leave you both alone for awhile. Then hopefully we'll be able to get her out of here before anything else comes up."

Hermione walked into the room, joining the conversation, "I hope so too, I know Bellatrix has a wicked mind, the sooner I'm away from her the better."

"Oh Cue, I've got something for you," Draco remembered, reaching into his robes. He handed her the letter as she joined them on the couch. "I got it from Fred before I left London."

"Fred was there? Who else? What happened?"

"One thing at a time, go ahead and read the letter and I'm going to go get some snacks, I'm hungry."

Draco ran his fingers through Hermione's hair as he stood up, making his way to the sitting room. Hermione quickly opened the letter, eyes tearing:

Hermione,  
We hope this letter finds you well, we're all worried about you.  
If there is anything we can do to help you out, don't hesitate to contact us. Don't let Malfoy boss you around, if anyone can find a way out of this mess, it's you Princess.  
Yours,  
The Twins

She was rereading the letter for the 4th time when Draco came back with his snack; he sat beside her and glanced at the letter. He could tell that the message had quite an effect on her, she had a big smile on her face and he could see her eyes scanning the letter over and over.

"Hey, did you want to write them something back? I'm supposed to see one of the Weasley's again soon."

"Yea, I'll be sure to write them something, what did they say? What happened today?"

Draco looked over at the two ladies on the couch with him, both looked so eager to hear good news. "Well, I took care of the Snatchers and their petty problem and I saw Bill, that's who has been following me by the way, walk down an alleyway. So I waited until the Snatchers left and followed him. Of course they pushed me into some abandoned shop and took my wand, Arthur was there as well as Fred.

"They of course wanted to know what I knew and how you were. I showed them the letter, they were livid at the news about you being stuck here as my slave. I stressed that I had to return here because I was the only person keeping you safe, and Mum of course. I did tell them about what happened with my father the other day. That didn't go over well either, as expected. All in all though, once they got past the shock of everything, they seemed open to the idea of taking us in. Mr. Weasley did say he'd bring it up to the rest of the Order and get back to me. So no promises yet but I'm hopeful, now all we need to figure out is how to get you out of this spell. I'm not sure when I'll be sent back out, Aunt Bella will probably tell me tomorrow. I might have to start making excuses to head out to London and keep a lookout for red hair. Who knows how long it might take everyone to agree on what to do."

Narcissa looked at the young pair, "I'm almost certain they'll agree to protecting us, it would mean Hermione is returned to them, safe and sound and we'll be able to pass on information to them. I know a bit about the big picture, I hear a lot from all the Death Eater gatherings I've been arranging," Narcissa said, looking over at her son.

"Is that why you've been organizing all of those?"

"Yes, it is important to always gather information, you never know when you might need it."

Hermione turned towards the older witch, "But did you know you were going to be switching sides?"

"No, I had hoped but I gathered the information on the chance that I'd be able to escape the worst of the war with my son and hopefully my husband. I think the Order would be pleased with the information I've gathered. The Order should also be pleased with just Draco's presence, lately Draco has risen in the ranks, even if you don't feel like it. The loss of an up-and-coming Death Eater will hurt the morale of some of the lesser followers."

"Well hopefully the Order will see it that way and get back to us soon, the longer it takes the more I'm going to worry. And the sooner we can get Hermione out of here the better, I don't want Father trying anything else."

Hermione stood up suddenly, mind working, "Why didn't I feel compelled to do what Lucius told me to do this afternoon? Even with all the strange behavior, I believed that the person standing in front of me was Draco, so shouldn't I have had to do what he said?"

Draco thought about that a moment, "Well could it be because the curse used my blood to bind you to me? Maybe the magic knows he didn't have my blood, even if he looked like me?"

"That's the only thing that makes sense really, that as long as you are my owner, I'm completely safe from other people. At least in terms of someone trying to trick me, obviously it seems they can still over power me," Hermione mumbled, thinking back to the attack. "Something wasn't right this afternoon, when Lucius cursed me, it was different. Did you interrupt the spell Narcissa?"

Narcissa shook her head, wondering what the girl was talking about. They watched as she paced back and forth, not wanting to interrupt her thought process.

"Something happened, but I have no idea what. This afternoon when he tried to curse me, I didn't feel pain, not really. I felt my muscles tighten all of a sudden and that's what made me fall down, I couldn't balance myself. But there wasn't any pain at all, I don't understand."

"Is it too much to hope that you've built up some miraculous immunity to the Cruciatus curse?"

"Of course not, that's not something you can just get over I don't think. I'm confused," Hermione said as she sat down again.

"I'll have to look into something, but I might be able to come up with some answers for you two, so don't despair just yet," Narcissa soothed, getting up from the couch. "Please be careful, do your best to prepare yourselves for tomorrow, I'll leave you both alone to discuss it. I'm sure it would be even more difficult if I were here."

"Thanks for your help Mum, with everything today," Draco said, giving her a hug.

"Yes, thank you, you really saved me today, I'm glad I wasn't alone."

The pair watched as the tall witch left the room, sitting in silence for awhile. Hermione reached over and grasped Draco's hand, needing strength.


	15. Can I Escape?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco comes up with a brilliant plan to try and get Hermione out of the Manor. He'll do anything so she doesn't have to face his family in the morning.

"Tomorrow, it's really happening isn't it?"

Draco nodded his head, unable to say anything.

"Even if I could escape, I think it would be a bad idea for me to leave before they see me tomorrow."

"What are you talking about Cue? Tomorrow you'll be at their mercy, if I could get you out of here tonight, I would. Regardless of what that would mean for me," he said, standing up to pull her into his arms. "I can't stand the thought of them trying to hurt you."

Hermione lost her strength, falling into his arms as tears filled her eyes. She didn't think she could face them, not after what Lucius had done, had tried to do. As much as Draco wanted to, he wouldn't be able to protect her, not really. He had to play along, still had to be the faithful Death Eater until they could escape.

"Draco…"

"Wait, I know what we can do, I feel so stupid, why didn't we do this sooner," Draco mumbled. "I might have a way to get you out of here, right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Poppy, come here please."

With a pop, the house elf was in front of them, curtsying, "Yes Master?"

"You can Apparate in and out of the Manor can't you Poppy, just like Dobby did when he rescued Potter."

"Yes, that's how I go to the stores."

"And you can take Miss Hermione with you right?"

Hermione's eyes widened, why hadn't they thought of this before? Elves had separate magic, even if the wizards couldn't come in and out of the house, nothing was stopping the elves from doing it.

"Yes, Poppy supposes so."

"Okay Poppy, I want you to take Miss Hermione somewhere safe, we need to get her out of the house right away!"

"Wait, Draco, do you think this will work? I'm sure the Order would have thought about sending Dobby back for me right away, if it were this easy right?"

"Maybe they did, at first. Although Dobby only would have gone into the dungeon, assuming you were being held there. But you weren't in there, and it's too dangerous for him to be roaming the Manor. And then when they found out I'm trying to help you, maybe they didn't want to risk it," Draco guessed.

"Maybe. I suppose we should try, even if we haven't broken the curse, we'll at least be out of the Manor right?"

Poppy came over to Hermione and held her hand, when she was ready, Poppy Disapparated them. Hermione felt the familiar sensation of Apparation, but then suddenly, she felt a wall in front of her, stopping her forward movement. Then suddenly she was thrown backwards, the room around her spinning. She crashed to the floor, Poppy landing on top of her with a squeak.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, kneeling beside them in an instant.

"Ugh, talk about a rough landing."

"What happened Poppy?"

"Poppy isn't sure. We hit a wall and Poppy could go no further, not with Miss Hermione."

"I wonder if Father figured out a way to prevent you from leaving, I'll have to ask Mother. Damn! I was sure this would work. I'm sorry, are you two alright?"

"Yea, I'm fine, just a bit disappointed. But it will be okay Ace, you'll be here with me."

"Poppy is fine as well, was there anything else Master wanted?"

Draco shook his head and dismissed the elf, helping Hermione off the floor. They had been so close, what happened? He began pacing the room in frustration, running his hands through his hair. Was he strong enough for tomorrow, he could put on his mask and act like she was nothing to him? Would they believe it?

"We will make it through whatever happens tomorrow, I promise. I'll be strong because I know you'll be there with me. I'm a Gryffindor after all right? I'm strong and brave and I face danger. And you're a Slytherin, you know how to achieve your goals, how to be sneaky and cunning. You'll be able to trick them into believing anything tomorrow," Hermione promised. "I-I believe in you."

Hearing her words, Draco stood straight, forcing himself to be calm. She was right, together they'd get through this, and his mom would be there as well. He gave her a nod, promising her he'd hold it together.

"Now how about you help me write a response to the twins, and probably the other Weasley's too."

She walked over to him and wrapped her hand around his, pulling him to the office; for a little while at least, they'd be able to focus on something else. After a few hours, Hermione had finally been able to come up with a few short letters for the Weasley's, as well and Harry and Ron if they were to make an appearance. She hated not knowing if everyone was okay or not. Draco hadn't been to any meetings since she had become his slave, so he wasn't able to bring her any news. She hugged the small pile of letters to her chest, wishing she could be hugging her second family.

"We'll put these in my room, they'll be safe there and I promise I'll take them with me every time I go out. Want to have an early dinner?"

"Yea, dinner sounds good. Then maybe I can go sit in the dark and try to not dwell on tomorrow."

He gently took the letters from her and led her from the office; she made her way to the sitting room to think about dinner while Draco put the letters in one of his drawers. By the time he sat down with Hermione, she had decided what to have and had already asked Poppy to prepare it.

Hermione watched the blonde as he came and sat with her, "You know, I think we should talk about tomorrow instead of avoiding it. I think it will help me, what about you?"

"I don't think I'll be ready either way but, we can try to talk about it."

"I'm afraid. I have no idea what to do. I wasn't afraid when I thought I was going to be tortured, I had been expecting it. I was a prisoner, a Mudblood, but now, everything is different. If I do something wrong or mess up, you'll be the one that has to pay for it. That's not fair."

"War isn't ever fair. Normally they use that tactic for interrogation, but they still think that I'm in control. It's a test for me too, to see if I'm heartless. To make sure that I can't be corrupted, and that I can break the Great Hermione Granger. Your first night here, I couldn't sleep. I kept wondering what might have happened to you if I had grown up more like my father and not made up my own mind. What might I have done to you?" he confessed, voice dropping.

"There is no use thinking about that, you didn't turn out that way. I got really lucky that things turned out the way they did, it could have been much worse, for the both of us."

Draco shrugged, having a hard time with her faith in him, "I hope you're right. I don't know what I may have to do, I'm afraid I'll end up showing some kind of emotion on my face. I know they'll be jeering at you, I don't even know how exactly they'll want me to present you."

"Then we'll just have to keep telling ourselves not to break character. It will be just like we're in a movie," Hermione decided.

"Movie?"

Hermione's jaw dropped, "You've never heard of movies? Television?"

"Nope, never heard of those."

"You have a lot of catching up to do Ace, movies are great. They are like stories, only told by people acting them out. They are like plays only with special effects and awesome action and stunts. And the best part is you can rewind it and play it again. It's the same every time. I mean, it's like your wizard photos."

"Like our photos? What do you mean exactly? I kinda get what you're saying but it sounds really weird," Draco said, scrunching his brows.

"Well, you know how the wizards in the photos can move? How they have a set loop that they play in, based on the action of the photo? Well imagine someone taking a photo, but instead of looping, it goes on for a couple of hours, and there are all sorts of sounds and effects too."

"Couple of hours? Really? And you can watch this whenever you want?"

"Yea, once you buy the movie, and you have the player and a television, you can watch it as many times as you want. There are all types of movies. And some Muggles, are in many different movies, playing different roles."

"That sounds pretty cool, I might have to check some of these out later."

I think you'll be pretty impressed at what Muggles can do with special effects," Hermione promised.

They were interrupted briefly as Poppy brought them some dinner; both of them lightly nibbling at the food for a few minutes. Neither wanted to bring up the dark topic again but it needed to be discussed.

"So what does the movie thing have to do with us exactly?"

"Well, I was thinking that we can pretend to be like those actors. Tomorrow, we'll be playing a role. Tomorrow, you are the son of a Death Eater, rising in the ranks. You hate me and what I stand for; you have to prove yourself to everyone around you. Don't break character, keep telling yourself that. And then when we come back in here, you can stop acting."

"But what if I hurt you?"

Hermione offered a small smile, "Well, we have to make it look very convincing, but I think I can manage to act hurt even when you don't hit me hard. I'm strong I promise, I can take a slap or two."

Draco grabbed the brave witch's hand, "I don't want to feel like I believe in that though."

"You haven't believed in what they stand for in a long time, you told me so. One day of pretending won't change your mind. You know that you don't want to be like them, you feel wrong. Don't worry so much about it. We'll survive tomorrow and work on escaping here as soon as we can."

Hermione pulled the blonde towards her, giving him a fierce embrace; she tried to transfer some of her strength to him knowing he needed reassurance. All his life he'd been brought up to believe in the Dark Lord and his idiotic beliefs. It wasn't easy standing up to your own past and declaring a new path for yourself; to tear down everything you thought you stood for and rebuild yourself from the rubble, it took a lot of strength and courage. Reluctantly, she pulled away and looked down at her plate, trying to make herself eat more of the food.

"You're right Curlicue, like always. I'm glad you are willing to do this, I know you're doing it for my benefit," Draco mentioned before picking up his fork.

The pair ate in a comfortable silence for awhile, each trying to convince themselves that everything would turn out alright. Hermione kept wondering what might be too much or not enough. After a week with a supposed Death Eater, one that used to torment her in school no less, what might he have done to break her? She wasn't going to be too sassy, she'd be smarter than that, and no one wants to get beaten if they can avoid it. But she definitely wasn't going to be groveling, she'd stand straight and do Draco's bidding but appear to still have some spirit left. Most of his orders she'd have to obey regardless, but she'd rebel slightly were she could. Hermione knew that they wanted her to misbehave, to give Draco a chance to punish her. If she was too submissive, they'd be disappointed, or they'd think she had given up and then they might make her talk about the Order. Hermione's eyes opened wide at that thought.

On the couch next to her, Draco had been thinking about how to temper his hits, they had to be believable but he wasn't sure how hard might be too hard. He'd have to act uncaring when everyone tormented her, laugh at their cruel jokes and nasty comments. They'd probably expected him to be a little grabby as well, nothing like a little perversion to make a good show. Draco pushed his plate away from him, covering his face with his hands, elbows on his knees; tomorrow was going to be a nightmare.

Hermione's brain was firing, she hadn't even thought of them trying to get more information out of her now that she was under this curse. If Draco ordered her to spill her guts, could she deny him? They had experimented with bodily obedience but not verbal; he had only mentioned that she'd have to stop speaking if he told her to. So wouldn't she also have to speak if he wanted her to? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him push his plate away and drop his head into his hands. She couldn't share this worry with him, it would be one more thing that he'd stress over. She'd come up with something on her own, hoping that it didn't come to that. If they had wanted information, there was nothing stopping them from asking for it the night she became bound to the blond next to her.

"Come, on, maybe we should get some sleep, you look exhausted Ace."

Draco scoffed, "Then I'm sure I'll look absolutely horrid tomorrow, I'm not sure I'll sleep well tonight. But I agree sleep would be for the best, who knows when they'll be expecting me… us."

The duo stood and stretched, sluggishly making their way into the hall, "Hey Draco, could I, possibly stay with you tonight? I don't want to be alone if they come for me before I'm awake."

"I would definitely prefer you to be with me, I'll relax a lot more knowing you're with me. Go on and change, I'll see you in my room in a few."


	16. Take a Deep Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione and Draco spend the night together, needing the comfort and they share a tender moment. Then, it's almost time for the big show, the two of them do their best to prepare for it.

Hermione scurried into her room, hoping this wasn't a mistake on their part. She quickly pulled out her slip and changed, heading into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She had to take a few deep breaths before she left her room, once she fell asleep tonight, she'd wake up in Hell. But at least she wasn't sleeping alone. Hermione knocked on the door before entering, not wanting to surprise Draco; when she entered, she saw him just coming out of the bathroom, dressed in pajama bottoms and nothing else.

Draco noticed her stare, "Hope you don't mind, I get rather hot if I have a shirt on."

She shook her head, too nervous to speak. She had seen him before, just the other night, why was she still so nervous around him? Her eyes were drawn to the faint scarring along his chest, wondering how he had gotten those, she hadn't noticed them the other night. Shaking her head, she pulled herself back to the moment, he wasn't totally naked at least; she needed to get a grip on her emotions and her hormones too. Slowly she padded over to the bed, climbing in and getting comfortable.

"Hey, I thought about something, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable so feel free to say no okay?" Draco said, climbing in next to her. When he saw her nod, he continued, "I'm pretty sure my father is going to come looking for you early in the morning, most likely hoping you're alone. When he doesn't find you in your room, he's going to come in here. I don't want him to think that we're too comfortable, that would definitely tip him off. Do you think you might be okay if I tied up your hands? Not to the bed or anything, just something so he thinks you partially need to be restrained."

A blush spread up her cheeks at his question, "I su-suppose that would make sense. And as long as it's not too tight I'm sure I'll be okay for the night. What did you have in mind?"

Draco's face mirrored her shy flush, he hadn't really been prepared for her answer. He reached over and grabbed his wand, conjuring a green satin ribbon. "I was thinking of just using this to tie your hands in front of you, that way you'd still have good range of motion, much better than behind your back or over your head. And I'd tie it just tight enough that it looks convincing and won't fall off while we sleep."

"Okay," Hermione agreed, holding her wrists out and trying to remember how to breathe.

He swallowed, fingers fumbling with the ribbon as he lightly pulled her wrists towards him. She was already so trusting of him, she was willing to be slightly restrained and vulnerable while they slept. He never expected any of this, why did she have such faith in him? Shaking his head slightly to clear it, he tied her wrists, palms together, with enough give that she could move without chaffing her skin but tight enough it shouldn't fall off.

"Is that alright? I figured this would be more comfortable than crossed wrists."

The witch nodded in agreement, "Yea, I usually sleep with my hands under my pillow anyways, if I'm not sprawled all over the bed that is. Quite unladylike I'll admit. So this should be pretty comfortable. Um, maybe, one also around my mouth, and then we can pull it down around my neck, like it slipped down."

He blinked in surprise, amazed that she'd suggest that. She saw his face and hastened to explain, "I figured it would look like you didn't want me to be screaming, but that you didn't want me completely silent either. I figured that's why, even after I screamed, that Lucius didn't cast a Silencing Charm on me."

"If you're comfortable with it, I think it would be a nice touch," he admitted, conjuring up another ribbon, slightly thicker than the previous one. He took a shaky breath as she scouted closer to him, turning her body so he could tie the ribbon behind her head. He made sure her mouth was covered, and tied a tight knot, careful not to catch any of her hair. Then he reached forward and pulled the ribbon down so it hung loosely around her neck.

Hermione tried to control her breathing as she felt the soft fabric cover her lips; she never imagined she'd be in someone's bed, willingly tying herself up. She trusted Draco, forgetting everything she would have believed about him in the past. She shivered slightly when his fingers brushed her cheeks, moving the ribbon to her neck. She turned her head, seeking out his silver eyes, lips parting of their own accord.

He had begun to trace small circles along her neck with his fingers when she turned, her golden brown eyes full of emotion. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that she wanted to be here with him, in this bed, vulnerable. She was trusting him to not hurt her, and to provide her with strength; he cupped her neck as he leaned down, claiming her lips. She mewled with want, unsure of her own feelings as he ran his tongue along her lips, she eagerly opened them, tasting his tongue with her own.

Laying her back onto the pillows, he positioned himself next to her, tangling his fingers in her curls. He caressed her tongue, moving one of his hands lower to cup her ass and pull her up against him. Her hands were running over his chest, her hips arcing into him, wanting to be closer. As she moved her hands, she felt the restrictive movements off the green satin, pulling away slightly from the kiss, catching her breath. She bit her lip, what was she doing? She was tied up and without magic, there was nothing she could do to stop Draco, and she wasn't even sure if she wanted him to stop. What happened to only having sex to get it out of the way? This hadn't been part of the plan. She looked up at him, eyes full of emotion, unsure of what to say or do.

Draco felt her body tense slightly as she pulled away, he opened his eyes to see her biting her lip. He understood that she was conflicted, he could see confusion swimming in her eyes; he felt the same way. He didn't want to push her into anything, especially since she was so vulnerable right now. They hadn't discussed what had happened between them the night before, he hadn't brought it up so she wouldn't be embarrassed. But now he couldn't stop himself from wanting her, she was so beautiful and delicate, but fierce in her own way. He didn't know if this was okay, this didn't feel like just sex to him and he wanted her to know that.

"Listen, Hermione I- I want you to know that, I care about you. A lot. I don't want to take advantage of you. Let's just leave off here, tonight isn't the time for that, not yet if you don't want to. I don't want you to feel conflicted or troubled, so I want you to know that I won't do anything you don't want me to. Last night was under different circumstances, but we haven't discussed anything and I don't want you to feel like you have to do this. I'm still trying to sort out everything myself, and I'm sure you are too, and that's alright. Come on, let's get some sleep Cue, I'll be here right beside you."

Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes, so much for not getting emotionally attached to this man. She felt relieved that he seemed to be feeling the same way about her, he hadn't been expecting casual sex from her; he had wanted her to know that he cared about her feelings. She leaned into his chest, whispering a soft thank you, enjoying his strong arms around her. Slowly, she began tracing the faint scars she had noticed early with her fingers. After a moment Draco noticed the pattern, having forgotten about those scars.

"Where did these come from?"

"Do you remember what happened 6th year? Did Potter even tell you?"

Hermione thought back for a moment, eyes widening as she remembered what Harry had told her, "Those scars are from that time in the bathroom? When he was almost expelled?"

"Yes. By some miracle Snape decided against it, as well as McGonagall; there were definitely perks of being The Chosen One. I'll admit, I had reacted rashly as well, but I had no idea Potter even knew a spell that could cause that kind of damage."

"He honestly had no idea what it did, he had read it in one of his books. When he heard you about to cast one of the Unforgivables, he panicked and tried the first thing that came to mind."

"I'm lucky to be alive, that Snape knew how to fix it, although I am ashamed I attempted to use that Curse on him."

"If Snape used to counter-curse, which he is one of the only ones to know it, since he created the spell, why are there still scars?"

"It was a pretty serious injury, even with some dittany applied, a scar was inevitable. I don't mind though, not anymore. Honestly it reminds me of what I don't want to become, of what I was so close to becoming. Snape saved me, saved my soul, when he killed Dumbledore."

Understanding Draco's feelings, she leaned over, lightly pressing her lips against the faint marks; she heard him inhale sharply, realizing what she was doing. Wordless, he wrapped his arms tighter around her, neither needing to speak. After a moment the couple got comfortable, Hermione turning lie on her side with Draco spooning her, arm over her waist. Despite the hectic day, both of them fell asleep quickly, neither moving all night.

When the door of his bedroom banged open the next morning, Draco's eyes flew open and he saw his father come storming into the room. Hermione stirred next to him, brain not fully registering the loud noise; she was awoken with a start as she was yanked out of bed. She struggled, arms not working right, something was wrong; as she looked up at Lucius's satisfied face, she remembered that her wrists were tied together. Draco quickly jumped out of bed, coming to Hermione's side.

"Can I help you Father? And if you would please take your hands off of my slave?"

Lucius chuckled, releasing the girl's arm, "I figured we'd get an early start on her performance review. I was worried when I didn't find her in her own chambers but I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find her in here."

Hermione stood tall, glowering at the man in front of her as he took in her state of dress and her bonds. An angry flush crept up her cheek as his eyes lingered on her bare legs, lust apparent in his eyes.

"Well if everyone is already here, allow us to get dressed and we'll be down," Draco said coolly.

"I don't see why she can't just come down like this, you get dressed Draco, I'll take her to everyone else."

Draco scowled at his father, "You will not. She belongs to me and I know about your recent slips in control. I won't have anyone touching her but me."

Lucius narrowed his eyes at his son but didn't challenge him, instead he just shrugged and walked out of the room, telling them to meet in the sitting room on the West Wing as soon as they were ready. As the door closed, Draco let out a relieved breath, at least his father hadn't insisted on taking her, he had no doubt that something would have happened on the way down.

"Come on Cue, time to start acting, I guess we'll go get dressed, unless you do want to go down in that?" he asked, eyebrow raised. He gave her time to think about it as he undid the ribbons around her wrists and neck.

"No, definitely not, then I wouldn't be able to sleep in it anymore. I'll meet you by the hallway doors."

She left the safety of Draco's room, hesitant in case Lucius had been waiting for her, but instead she found Poppy.

"Sorry Miss Hermione, for not warning you. Old Master Malfoy made me stay with Mistress Malfoy, Poppy suspects he knows of my wards."

"It is alright Poppy, Draco let me stay with him, he knew that Lucius would try something like this," Hermione assured the elf.

Poppy accompanied the witch into her room, pulling out her clothing for her as Hermione went into the bathroom. Through the door, Poppy assured her that in the future, she'd come, regardless of what Lucius told her. This made Hermione feel more at ease, surely Lucius couldn't keep Poppy away, she belonged to Draco after all. Besides, Narcissa had told him to stay away from her so he had no reason to come up to this floor anyways. As Hermione emerged from the bathroom, turning to her outfit, she had to remind herself to take deep breaths, hopefully it would be over soon. She quickly dressed and left her room, finding Draco waiting for her by the double doors.

"Ready?" he asked.

"No, but it's time. Better put on my scared face, I don't think it will be too hard."

Draco gave her a quick hug before opening the door and gripping her upper arm, "Here goes nothing."


	17. Time to Pretend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione meets Bellatrix once more, and Draco does his best to protect her without giving anything away

As the pair walked down the stairs and over to the West Wing, Hermione tried to get her legs to stop trembling, Draco wouldn't let anything happen to her. She felt Draco give her arm a quick squeeze before they entered the room, Hermione standing tall again and Draco putting on a mask of indifference. She swept the room with her eyes, she immediately recognized Lucius and Narcissa standing together, Bellatrix off to their right with her husband. Across the room there was Dolohov, Greyback, and Scabior. This seemed to be her personal welcoming party, no doubt Dolohov begged to be here to see this. Once more she felt a slight pressure on her arm, alerting her before Draco shoved her to the ground. She managed to catch herself with her hands, looking around the room and giving everyone a dark look.

"Well, it's been a week, how do you think you've done Draco?" Bellatrix asked, stepping forward.

"I think I've done well with her, considering how loyal she is to her friends and the Order. On top of that, she possesses the usual Gryffindor courage, there is still some work to be done but I think she's made good progress. Wouldn't you agree Slave?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, but refused to comment, not wanting to seem too defiant yet. There were chuckles around the room at her scowl, they knew she was powerless.

"So what exactly are we doing here Auntie?"

"I was just hoping to see how she behaves, I figured maybe she could help the elves serve us some breakfast. That should be a great place to start."

Draco nodded, looking down at Hermione, waiting for her to stand; she refused to look at him, instead she looked towards the elves that came into the room, waiting to take her to the kitchen.

"Go on then Mudblood, do as the elves instruct you, and don't make any mistakes," Draco ordered, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Yes Master," she growled in response, ignoring the whistles from Dolohov as she walked past him.

Everyone gathered around the table set up for breakfast, Draco sat on his father's right. He helped his mother into her seat, right beside him. Across from his was his Aunt, then his Uncle. Greyback took the chair facing his father, Scabior and Dolohov sitting on either side of him.

Once Hermione got into the kitchen, Poppy appeared next to her, giving her a quick etiquette lesson; Lucius was to be fed first, followed by the person seated to his right, then the rest of the table. Hermione didn't need to worry about getting any drinks, one of the other elves had already taken their orders. After all the plates were set, Hermione was expected to stand behind Draco's chair, just off to his left in case he needed anything. She quickly repeated all of this back as she grabbed one of the trays, following the other elves.

They reentered the room, Hermione taking the first plate off the tray and placing it before Lucius, holding her breath. Luckily he decided not to say anything to her, seeming to ignore her; relieved, Hermione quickly went back to the tray and grabbed a second plate. The elves had served most of the plates, so she headed down to the other ended, stopping beside Scabior. As she bent slightly to put his plate in front of him, he reached out and slapped her ass. When she turned to glare at him, he winked, giving her a slight pinch as well; before she could control herself, she stood up and slapped him across the face. Immediately she flushed, putting her hands behind her back, looking at the floor. Scabior leapt to his feet, ready to hit her but Draco's voice stopped him.

"Excuse me Scabior, did you really just touch my property, without my permission?"

"Forgive me young Mister Malfoy, I couldn't seem to help myself," Scabior spat out, glaring at the young wizard.

Hermione took this opportunity to find her place behind Draco, still looking at the floor. Across the table she could hear Bellatrix cackling.

"Looks like she still has a lot of spirit left, wouldn't you say Draco? She isn't too much for you?"

"Not at all, she's nothing I can't handle, besides, where is the fun if she has none left?" Draco responded with a wink.

The men at the end of the table laughed at his comment, agreeing with him. Luckily the rest of the meal went by smoothly, everyone mostly ignoring her. Draco decided he needed to show them that he had her at least partially under his control so halfway through his meal, he held up his glass.

"Orange juice," he stated.

Immediately recognizing his need, Hermione turned and found the pitcher, quickly refilling his goblet. She missed the appraising look Bellatrix gave Draco, having turned to put the pitcher back on the small table. Soon after that, the elves came forward once more and started to collect the plates. Hermione followed suit, gathering all the plates back onto the trays and taking it back to the kitchen. Poppy gave her a quick smile, letting her know she was doing just fine so far. When she made her way back into the sitting room, the group had moved from the table and was occupying the few couches along the walls. Since Draco was sitting on the outside seat of one of the couches, she stood along the wall next to him, unsure what she was to do now. She didn't have long to wait before Greyback started talking.

"Let's have the Mudblood entertain us."

Draco shrugged, "And what would you have her do?"

"I can think of a few things," he uttered darkly.

"Ugh, don't be crude Greyback, there are women present. What do you say Auntie?"

"I think she did well earlier, now I was hoping I could get you to ask her some questions for me, on the Dark Lord's orders of course." Draco nodded slowly, unsure of what might happen now; he stood and grabbed one of the chairs from the table, placing it in the middle of the room. He silently pointed to it, waiting for Hermione to sit. As she walked over, he noticed the defiant stare in her eyes, he realized that she had expected this to happen. He hoped she had a way around answering somehow, he sure didn't know how to avoid this. He stood next to her as Bellatrix came closer, eyeing the young woman; she pulled out her wand, twirling in front of her.

"The Dark Lord wants to know more about the Potter boy and his friends. Perhaps she can enlighten us a bit?"

"Well, let's find out. Tell us Slave, have you had any contact with Potter lately?"

"You know I haven't, Master," she added on sarcastically.

At her tone, Draco spun and backhanded her, as lightly as he dared, Hermione biting her lip to stop from crying out. "I didn't ask for any sass. Do you have any information on where Potter might be?"

"No, like I told you before, we were prepared for something like this."

Bellatrix cut in, pointing her wand, "Where are the Order headquarters?"

Hermione just looked straight ahead, not answering the question, Bellatrix had no control over her.

"Draco?"

"Answer the question, where are the Order headquarters?"

Hermione dropped her eyes, clamping her mouth shut, she wasn't going to answer that question, even if it killed her. Her eyes screwed shut, fighting the urge to answer; slowly the urge left her and she opened her eyes to look at Bellatrix defiantly.

"So she won't answer, I think she needs some encouraging," Bellatrix said, raising her wand threateningly.

Not wanting to be cursed again by that nasty witch, Hermione shot out of her chair, "I will not rat out the Order, nothing can make me do that! Nothing!"

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed, her hand flicking, but before she could cast the spell, Draco grabbed her by the back of her neck and spun her around, bending her over the table. Grinding his hips against her ass, he tilted her head back.

"You're lucky my Mother is here, or else I might be tempted to teach you some more manners," he growled, bending down and biting her ear. Hermione closed her eyes and whimpered, struggling a bit wanting them to believe he was hurting her. Suddenly he lifted her off the table and turned her around to face his Aunt again.

"Let's try a few different questions for now, maybe she'll tell us about the Orders plans."

Draco dropped his hand from her arm, letting her stand there and face his Aunt. "Okay Slave, what is Potter out doing right now?"

"I won't say," Hermione mumbled, remembering to flinch when he pulled out his wand.

He slowly circled in front of her, toying with his wand, "So, even though your friends left you here with me, you aren't going to betray them. Not even knowing what awaits you if you continue to disobey me?"

"Harry and Ron are my friends."

Draco let out an exasperated sigh, hinting that he had grown used to this kind of behavior, with a flick of his wrist and a quiet 'Everte Statum' he threw Hermione across the room with a small shriek of surprise. Hermione managed to tuck her arms under her as she hit the floor, counting her blessings as she slid to a stop before hitting the wall, Draco hadn't put much feeling behind the spell. As she stood, Draco summoned her with a bending of his finger, she dusted herself off then straightened her shoulders and walked back to him.

"Are you sure you don't want to answer the questions? It's only going to get worse, pet."

With a theatrical shudder, Hermione shook her head, adamantly refusing. Draco reached out, ignoring her flinch, and forced her chin up so he could look into her eyes. Her heartbeat quickened and she forced her hands to shake slightly, she knew the others were watching closely.

"That's a pity. You're going to have to pay for embarrassing me in front of everyone, pet, you know that."

She closed her eyes and tried to look away, whimpering again as he forced her to look at him. But she clenched her fists, taking a deep breath, "I don't care. Nothing you can do to me will make me talk you vile snake."

He just smirked and dropped her chin, stepping close to her to whisper in her ear, "Imagine the most embarrassing thing ever, I need you to blush so they think I'm saying something nasty."

Hearing his words, it didn't take much thought for Hermione to turn red, all she had to do was think about the other night. Instantly the flush appeared on her cheeks, standing rigidly, and closing her eyes instinctively; the others in the room laughing at her expression. Casually the blonde stepped away from her, turning back to his aunt.

Bellatrix studied the girl a moment before she spoke again, "I knew she was going to be a hard one to break, we might have to resort to harsher methods."

At those words, Greyback stood up, licking his lips, and stepping towards her. Terror getting the better of her, Hermione blanched, turning and hiding herself behind Draco, grabbing onto the back of his robes, "Please no Master."

"Let go of me," Draco ordered, trying to ignore a shiver of fear.

"Yes Master," she squeaked out, letting her hands drop but still hiding behind him.

"Interesting," Bellatrix murmured, holding up a hand to stop Greyback. "That will be enough for today, I would have been surprised if we had gotten answers out of her. Even with the spell binding her to you, it doesn't always enable you to get answers from her. If it's something she feels strongly about, there is a chance she can keep quiet. But we'll get the truth out of her eventually, I'm sure of it. I'm proud of you Draco, you've worked hard with her. But there is still much to be done. Dismiss her, I have more private matters to discuss with you."

With a snap of his fingers, Poppy appeared before him and he ordered her to escort Hermione back to his wing to do cleaning. Then he dismissed them both with a wave, turning his attention back to his aunt.

As soon as Poppy led Hermione out of the sitting room, she broke out in a jog, wanting to get the stupid uniform off of her. Poppy squeaked and rushed to keep up, her little legs working fast. In no time at all the two of them were safely back inside the third floor of Draco's wing, Hermione rushing into her room and ripping the blue uniform off. She quickly debated taking a shower but decided against it, just in case someone tried to come in. As much as Draco and Poppy tried to protect and warn her, she wasn't eager to be naked and vulnerable with that many of Voldemort's followers in the Manor. So instead she dug some clothes out of the closet, relieved to be back in normal clothes.

"Now what Poppy, do we just wait until Draco comes back? What if someone else tries to come up here?"

"No worries Miss Hermione. If anyone else but Master Draco or Mistress Malfoy come up the stairs, I will take you to the kitchens."

"Oh good, it wouldn't surprise me if one of them tried to come up here while Draco was busy. But for now, would it be okay if you got me breakfast, now that I'm not being paraded around, I've realized how hungry I am."

Poppy curtsied, "Of course Miss."

After the elf disappeared, Hermione sat on her bed, hugging herself; it seemed that things went pretty well, but what if Bellatrix convinced Draco to hand her over to Greyback? She knew Draco would try and stall, come up with excuses to keep her with him, but if the Dark Lord wanted results, Bellatrix would get them. Hermione decided to go read and take her mind off of everything, heading into the library and looking through the fiction section.


	18. Are You Okay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellatrix gives Draco his next mission, and then he talks things over with his mom... how did Hermione end up taking it?

*With Bellatrix*

After Hermione left, Bellatrix quickly excused the Snatchers and Dolohov, telling them to go back to their duties. Her husband excused himself, claiming to have business to attend to now that the show was over. As the room emptied, Draco strolled over to a couch and sat down, waiting for his aunt to start speaking. He didn't have long to wait.

"I will be sure to tell the Dark Lord of all your progress with the Mudblood. Like I said, I was hoping we'd get some answers but am not surprised with the outcome. I am surprised at how much spirit the girl has left, are you taking after your father Draco?"

He smirked, throwing his father a glance, "Maybe, she just intrigues me. I definitely like a challenge, she's quite fiery, but I make sure she's never out of line."

"Yes, I could tell, even at your smallest movements, I could see her flinch, yet there wasn't a mark on her."

Lucius spoke up then, "That's because he treasures her beauty, I had asked him the same question. I had wondered if he was being too lenient with her though, what do you think Bellatrix?"

"I think whatever he is doing is more than sufficient. She is still defiant but she's afraid of him, she knows that he'll hurt her later. If he chooses to leave her without marks that's fine, just as long as there are results."

Draco smiled, at least they managed to convince her, "So what about Greyback, he seemed quite eager to have a go at my property."

"Well, I was told to employ harsher means if I deemed it necessary but, after what I saw, I think it's not going to be needed. The way the girl reacted towards you when the threat was implied, very telling."

"What do you mean dear Sister?" Narcissa asked.

"Well, clearly she is afraid of our young Draco, but she still prefers him to Greyback, a smart choice really. I think the slight leniencies he has allowed her have worked in his favor, she expects him to protect her from the others, like he did when Scabior acted out. That means, on some level, she wants to trust him, at least in present company."

Draco snorted, "She trusts me? Right Auntie, that seems likely. She's afraid of me, but she's more afraid of Greyback."

"Yes, but there is more to it than that, when she hid behind you, she said, 'Please no Master,' showing that she was pleading with you to protect her. Already she's identifying with you whether she realizes it or not. Draco is slowly earning her acceptance, little by little, she's adjusting to life as his slave."

Draco sat up straighter as he listened to her, had she picked up on all of that? Of course he knew that Hermione trusted him, her life was in his hands. But Auntie really believed that Hermione was growing accustomed to him? This little performance worked out more in their favor than he had imagined. His aunt really had a keen mind if she pulled all of that out of such a short performance.

His mother spoke up then, "So, since you think the girl is becoming comfortable with his, methods, that we can use that against her?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, it's pretty typical of prisoners to try and attach to someone that treats them remotely human. I'm a little shocked that she attached to Draco so easily, but we made the smart decision to keep her locked away from the rest of the Manor. Even the smartest witches can be fooled by kindness."

Lucius cleared his throat, "Why is it that you are showing her such kindness Son? Surely you hadn't anticipated this."

The younger wizard just smirked, he knew his father was trying to get him to admit to being soft, "I had heard of those kinds of occurrences but the thought hadn't occurred to me with the Mudblood. I was just being careful with my lessons because I didn't want her to turn out like the last witch my Father was in charge of. This witch is very valuable, I couldn't just cause irreparable damage. I guess I made the right choice not using the Cruciatus Curse too much, but what do we do now?"

His aunt was silent for a bit, wondering what the Dark Lord would advise, "I think you should keep working with her. Don't do anything different. She is used to you and it's working, hopefully the next time we come for information she'll be more forthcoming. If you can, ask her on your own, see if she'll answer when it's just you. Don't try to be her friend suddenly though, she'll see through that, we still need her afraid of you."

"I'm sure I can do that, she doesn't need much punishment usually, she's figured out a pattern, but after today we'll see. I'll report to you immediately if I get her to tell me anything interesting. Maybe after seeing just how serious her predicament is, she'll be more willing to obey."

"Good, on to other business then. The Dark Lord is going to start giving you more intense missions. What you've been doing is not unimportant but he feels he could use you in other places. On Sunday, you are to go to be investigating some of the workers in the Public Information Services. We believe some of them are secretly sending out 'special' pamphlets warning people about our various plans. I have their home addresses written down."

"Public Information Services? The Ministry workers? And what exactly am I do to?"

"Go visit them at home, see if you can't scare them into admitting their wrong doings. Send me word of your progress with one of the elves when you return home. You don't have to visit them all in one day, but the longer it takes the more they may be prepared for your visit."

"Are they listed by importance on the list? At least that way I can look into the bigger trouble makers first. If we get them to crack, their followers are sure to fall too."

Bellatrix smiled, "I knew the Dark Lord was right to place his trust in you. You have a very sharp mind, I have no doubt you'll deliver good results. Yes the names on the list are ordered most to least important."

Draco quickly scanned the list his aunt handed him, there were only 7 names, it shouldn't take more than a day or two as long as no one gave him too much trouble. He made a mental note to pass on these names to the Weasleys when he saw them again. They might be able to protect them or at least talk to them about keeping quiet for awhile. After giving his aunt a quick nod, accepting his new mission, she waved him away, done with him for now.

As he turned, his mother spoke up, "Draco, would you mind escorting me to my drawing room, it's been a few days since we've spent time together."

"Of course Mother, it would be my pleasure."

He held out his arm for her, leading her out into the hallway, she must have something important to tell him. As long as the other two stayed away from his side of the Manor, Hermione would be safe for awhile longer. As soon as they were safely tucked away in Narcissa's drawing room, she cast a Silencing Charm and sat down in her favorite chair.

"What's wrong Mum?"

"I have some troubling news, regarding the tactic you tried last night. Poppy came and discussed what happened. She has never had trouble leaving the house before. So I looked into it, apparently Lucius put up a strong Anti-Muggle ward, preventing anyone not of Pure blood to pass through it. So even though Poppy, with elf magic, could pass through, it recognized Hermione's unpure blood and stopped her. I'll have to figure out what to do about that before we try to get her out of here."

"If that was the case, how did Potter and everyone leave here?"

"He probably put it in place right after they left, preventing any further losses. Or attacks also, even though it appears elves and Purebloods can come and go as they please. I'm slightly surprised there wasn't one up already, but I guess he believed our security to be infallible."

"Ugh, just one more complication. Thanks for telling me though, I had forgotten about that, I was a little too preoccupied. I'm glad Poppy remembered, I'll have to thank her for that later; she's done so much for me. As have you Mother, I love you."

"I'm your mother, I'd do anything for you, you know this. As for Hermione, be careful with her; I know she is a strong witch, but even she has her limits. You both acted superbly, but be sure to go and see her immediately, she's going to need your reassurance. Don't get mad if she questions your loyalties, you were once the enemy, it's only natural for her to get bit defensive after what happened in there."

"I will, we talked about it a lot, so I hope nothing I did or said hurt her too much, her act was so believable. If anyone needs reassuring, I think it might be me, I don't want to believe she really hates me," he confessed.

"Go on then, go be with each other, you both need the contact. Rest, I'll make sure you father doesn't bother you too much. Maybe I'll come have lunch with you tomorrow if time permits."

"Thank you Mother," Draco said, giving her a hug before departing.

Quietly, he made his way back to his wing, wondering what his father and Aunt Bellatrix might be discussing. The Dark Lord hadn't given Lucius any special instructions since he had been imprisoned a few summers ago, he was deemed incompetent. But regardless of that, Bellatrix stopped by regularly and was often seen talking with Lucius; Draco usually wouldn't have worried about it but now, with Hermione in the house, he worried about everything. Even now he was worried that Hermione might have been hurt by what happened between them earlier, was their delicate friendship shattered? He didn't think he could face her if she had become disappointed in him.

By the time he made it up to the ornate double doors, he had worried himself sick, afraid to go any further. Taking a deep breath, he opened the doors, quietly stepping inside. As he closed the doors, he placed a strong Locking Spell on them, hopefully preventing anyone from bothering them. He paused just inside the doors, wondering what room she might be in but she must have heard the doors open and close because she called out.

"Draco that's you right?"

"Yea, it's me, sorry, hope I didn't startle you," he answered, heading towards her voice in the library. As he rounded the corner, he saw her curled up on the couch with an open book in front of her. "Can I come in?"

"Of course you can, it is your library after all," she attempted to joke lightly. She was rewarded with the smallest of smiles as he crept into the room, throwing his robe over one of the chairs. He seemed at a loss of where to sit so she patted the cushion next to her, welcoming him.

"Are you okay Hermione? Like really okay?"

"Draco, I'm fine. You forget, I've fought with real Death Eaters before, ones that aren't trying to go easy on me. Like I said, I can take a hit or two. Really, I'm just grateful you found a way to not use the Cruciatus Curse on me. And you were able to prevent your crazy aunt from doing it too," she confessed. She had been beside herself when she saw Bellatrix toying with her wand, the curse wasn't any fun and she didn't want to experience it ever again. Especially not if they wanted Draco to cast it on her, she didn't know if either of them could deal with that.

Draco collapsed with relief when he heard her refer to 'real Death Eaters,' clearly not including him in with the others. She didn't hate him, it was a miracle, "Thank you Hermione, you have no idea how worried I was about this. I was thinking that you would be back to hating me."

"Draco, I knew that you didn't mean any of it, and you warned me whenever you could, I recognized that. But did they believe it all? That's the important question."

"Oh, they bought it all right, Aunt Bella was impressed by how much progress I've made. And when you flinched every time I moved, it really convinced her that you were afraid of me, adding to the illusion that I was torturing you. But what really convinced her, was when you hid behind me."

"That was a good thing? I was worried that she might take that the wrong way."

"I was too at first," Draco admitted. "But she saw that as a sign that you were 'identifying' with me as your master. Like you were beginning to accept life as a slave here, which means she wants me to keep working on you. She knows that you look to me to protect you from everyone else, like with Scabior; so that means that on some level you trust me and I should be able to exploit it."

"If only she knew the half of it!"

"Yea, she might die from the shock of it all. So as far as I can tell, everything worked out perfectly. Well as much as it could have. She's hoping that you might start answering the questions if I ask them when we're alone together, since you 'almost' trust me. I'm so glad that you didn't have to answer those in front of everyone."

"Thank goodness. I had thought about that briefly yesterday, but I didn't want to bring it up, since there was nothing either of us could really do to stall questions. So I just told myself over and over that I was not going to give anything away. I guess I got really lucky, for some reason, that's one thing the spell doesn't cover."

"I was so scared when Aunt Bella brought that up, and I was amazed you were able to deny the order, even if I had to hit you because of it. But Auntie gave me permission to continue to be 'lenient' with you, she was glad that I haven't gone overboard on the torture."

"Plus she probably thinks you like a little fight here and there, since there is only so much I can do to deny you. Really, if you wanted to, all you have to do is order me to sleep with you."

"Yea, apparently she expects it to run in the family," he commented with a shudder. At this point he didn't want to be anything like his father. "So you promise you're okay?"

Hermione nodded, reassuring him again, "I was a little disturbed by the whole thing, of having to parade around in front of everyone, and I was scared that I'd be sent in with Greyback. But I'm not mad at you for anything."

"Good, I wouldn't know what to do to get back in your good graces. I'd probably just lock myself in my room and avoid you. I'm wiped out," he admitted, lying down along the cushions, throwing his feet up on the arm, head in Hermione's lap.


	19. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione gets to see an unguarded side of Draco, one that shows just how vulnerable he really is in all of this; then they both finally admit to their feelings =)

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at how cute he was in that moment; he had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, one arm thrown up to cover his eyes, the other hanging off the couch, and his feet were hanging over the edge. He was much too long for this couch, especially with her occupying some of it, but he seemed happy to be lying there with her. She played with his hair as he tried to get comfortable, ultimately laying on his side, facing out, legs tucked just enough to allow his feet to be supported, one arm tucked across his chest and the other still hanging over the edge.

He mumbled a quiet thank you as he fell asleep, the fingers massaging his head relaxing him. Hermione tried to go back to reading, one hand casually running through his hair but she was too distracted by the wizard in her lap to concentrate. In this moment, he was so relaxed and vulnerable, she never really got to see him like this, especially with how much pressure was being put on him. She reminded herself to ask him about when he might be able to leave the Manor again, as much as she didn't want to be alone with Lucius on the prowl, she wanted to get those letters out. Putting the book down carefully, Hermione turned her attention to his features, taking in the strong bridge of his nose, his slightly chapped lips, vaguely wondering if he took to biting his lips when he was worried like she did. Her eyes traveled further down, drawn to the dark ink on his left forearm, the only mar on his alabaster skin besides his scars. Gingerly, she reached out to trace the mark, her fingers following the snake ingrained in his skin; she wondered how much it hurt when he got it. She knew the Mark was infused with Dark Magic, to have that kind of mark branded into his skin; she couldn't imagine what it must have felt like. She loved him for his strength, how much he had endured over the years for the sake of his family, and still he had a good heart, he hadn't let himself be corrupted.

Draco felt a light tickling sensation, pulling him out of his nap, slowly he opened his eyes. As his eyes adjusted to the light levels, he recognized Hermione's curls falling in front of his eyes; he shifted slightly so he could look up at her face. He felt breathless as he looked up at her, she looked beautiful when she was unguarded like this; there was a deep look in her eyes, he would give anything to know what she was thinking. As her fingers moved again, he realized just what she was looking at; ashamed he turned his head away from her, unable to look at her beautiful face.

Hermione was tracing her finger along the gruesome skull when she felt movement in her lap, looking down, she saw Draco with a pained look on his face. Worried that she had woke him, she rubbed her fingers along his cheek hoping to soothe him.

"Did I wake you?"

"I'm sorry Hermione."

"For what?"

"For not being strong enough, I couldn't protect my family, and now I'm not sure I can protect you. On Sunday I'm supposed to leave again, what if something happens to you?"

Hermione couldn't think of anything to say, how could he think he was weak? She pulled him up off of her lap, fiercely embracing him, needing him to know that she believed in him.

"But Draco, you are strong, very strong! You've been through so much in the past few years and yet, when given this chance to redeem yourself, you took it. You could have chosen to fall to the Dark side, you could have taken out all your hate out on me, but you didn't. Still you refused to embrace the ideals of those around you; still you refuse to believe in the very thing you were raised on! Draco, you are not weak, you were just scared. No one can fault you for that, you were forced to make the choices you did, we were all just kids, and we're still just kids.

"War forces people to do things they'd rather not do, but it's not too late for you. You can't let that Mark define you, only your actions define you, what you decide right now can forgive the actions of your past. You have to believe that."

Draco buried his face into her curls as he listened to what she told him; how could she possibly believe in him when she looked at that mark on his arm? Could he really be forgiven? "I want to believe you, I just don't know how to believe in myself after everything I've done. Why do you even believe in me? When Dumbledore offered me a chance, look what happened!"

"That was beyond your control, if Snape hadn't killed him, I'm sure one of the other Death Eaters would have, just remember that you didn't kill him. You were ordered to get those horrible people into the castle and you didn't know how to refuse. I believe in you because I've seen the real you, the kindness you have given me when no one else was there to protect me, when I couldn't even protect myself. You confided in me, about how you really feel, and that meant a lot to me. Everything you've done for me, while I've been trapped here, it's been such an eye opening experience. Draco, I-I… I love you," she finished in a whisper, clinging to him tightly. "After everything I've been through since starting at Hogwarts, I never believed that I'd find love, especially when we were in the middle of a war. I foolishly believed that I loved Ron, but even now, after all the time I've spent with him, I can't help but get aggravated by him. But now, when I'm with you, I feel like everything will be okay, I feel like, like I'm whole.

"I told myself that I wouldn't get attached to you, that it wasn't appropriate, but I couldn't avoid it, it happened anyways and after everything that has occurred, I don't want to deny it now. You have to believe in the Light, and if you can't, at least believe in me. I can see the good in you that you are avoiding, so if you can at least believe in me, we can survive this together. If you trust me, I'll bring you to the Light, trust me when you can't trust yourself; and I'll believe in you. Please."

"H-Hermione…? Do you mean all of that? Do you really feel so strongly for me, you love me?" Draco asked, taken aback at her confession. When he felt her nod against him, he felt something release in his chest, something that he had been holding back for a long time. When he pulled back and looked in her eyes, he felt his heartbeat increase, he got lost in her eyes; that's when he knew, "I love you too."

The pair of them stayed locked in an embrace, tears running down their cheeks, afraid to let go of each other. It was a long time until their tears dried up, sniffles filling the library until those too slowly stopped. Slowly, Hermione pulled away from Draco, looking up at him, offering him a smile; she felt much better after sharing her feelings, feelings that she had been afraid to admit to herself.

"Well now that we've gotten that off our chests, do you suppose we can eat an early lunch?" she asked, rubbing her tummy as it growled.

"Of course, lunch sounds perfect."

The two collected themselves before calling Poppy up to ask for some lunch; while they waited, they sat in silence, holding hands. Deep in their own thoughts, they both jumped with Poppy appeared back in the room with their lunch.

"Thank you Poppy," Hermione said, pulling one of the plates toward her.

"Yes, thank you. And thank you for also talking with Mother about what happened the other night. She was able to shed some light on what happened. I forgot to tell you about that Cue."

"What did she find out?" Hermione asked, taking a bit out of her sandwich.

"Well, she figured out that Father put up a really strong Anti-Muggle Ward around the property, which prevents anyone not of Pureblood from crossing the barrier. It was powerful enough to detect your blood, even though Poppy was using elf magic. I'm not sure what that means for our escape, but at least we know what happened."

"Now the only mystery left is why the Curse your dad tried to use on me didn't work. Although, honestly I'm okay with not knowing, just as long as he can't hurt me, that Curse is not fun."

"No way, you? Hermione Granger, not wanting to know something?" Draco scoffed.

"Okay, I'll probably want to know, it's just not important right now. I can wait until later to figure that out," Hermione admitted with a smile.

As they slowly finished their lunch, Hermione remembered the other thing she had wanted to know, "What was it that Bellatrix wanted to talk to you about?"

"Oh, yea, forgot about that," he said, standing up to get the list out of his robe. "I'm moving on up in the world, now instead of delivering mail, I get to start intimidating people. Here's my list."

She took the list from him, scanning the names quickly, "I don't really know any of these people, how important are they? Who did they upset?"

"They are part of the Public Information Services, I guess some of those Ministry workers have been suspected of printing special pamphlets, ones warning people of Death Eater activity."

"What is going to happen to them?"

"Not sure, I was hoping that when I went out, supposed to this Sunday, that I could try to pass off a copy of the list to the Order. Maybe they'd be able to protect them, or maybe at least talk to them, you know, convince them to lie low for a bit. I'm not exactly sure what is expected of me when I go see them, but I'll figure that out as I go along."

Hermione sat up, "You'll be going on Sunday? That's soon, then you'll hopefully also be able to pass off my letters! It will be so nice to let everyone know I'm alright, at least by way of letter."

She smiled at the blond, eager to hear back from everyone, hopefully without bringing any attention to Draco. Sighing, she realized that she really just wanted to be home, with her mom and dad, or maybe back at Hogwarts, finishing her education. There was so much that she still wanted to learn, she hadn't even had time to focus on what she truly wanted to do after she graduated. That was all hoping that they defeated Voldemort soon, the sooner the better. She could feel her body relaxing now that the meeting was over, she had some time to herself; there was no second guessing about what she needed to do or not do now. Now she could hide away with Draco, reading books and studying, her mind was free of stress all things considered.

"Hey there Cue, what do you want to do now? We've got the rest of the day, Mum said she was going to keep Father out of our hair and I cast a pretty strong Locking Spell on the door so we shouldn't be bothered."

"Honestly, I feel like I could go back to sleep, I feel exhausted now that all the stress is gone, but if I do that, I won't sleep after dinner. Too bad you don't have the stuff to run a movie, or I could show you some of those, they are great for killing time. What about board games?"

"Um, I'm going to guess no."

"What about a deck of cards? I can teach you a game that I always used to play, Wizard cards aren't too different from Muggles cards. And if we can't find anything we can play Exploding Snap?"

"Alright, that sounds like fun, I might have a deck of cards in my office somewhere, I'll go look."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, the next part coming up is something I want to keep together and I don't want this chapter being twice as long as the others. Also sorry for the delayed update, but thank you everyone that has been dropping reviews, all of your words have been encouraging. Also, just a warning, the chapter coming up next is VERY fluffy, so be on the lookout for that in the coming days. Thanks again to all my lovely and awesome readers!


	20. Stress Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Hermione spend some quiet time playing cards and relax a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Total fluff chapter!!! I don't care how OoC it seems, it needed to happen!!! Don't hate me XD

Hermione watched as he got up off the couch, a warm feeling spreading from her chest, she finally admitted her feelings and she felt amazing. Suddenly she sprang off the couch, coming up behind him and hugging him, burying her face into his shoulder. Draco was surprised by the sudden hug, not sure what to think about it but he knew it made him smile. So he wrapped his arm around her as he pulled her in front of him.

“Did you want to search with me?"

“I probably should, I think you might get lost if I’m not with you,” she joked, squeezing him tight.

“This house is a little big isn’t it? I’m glad I have you to accompany me,” he told her, bending down to kiss the top of her head. He nudged her feet with his until she understood; giggling, she lightly balanced herself on the tops of his feet and let him walk her into the office.

Hermione climbed off of his feet and looked around, “Okay, if I were a deck of cards, where might I be?"

“That is a good question, I’m sure there is something in one of these drawers, I’ll check these ones.”

They spent a few minutes checking the drawers, trying not to make a mess as they rifled through the papers. Finally, with a triumphant cheer, Hermione held up a deck of Wizarding cards, smiling excitedly; everything felt so much more carefree now that today was almost over.

“Alright, hard part is over, now, what game are you thinking of teaching me” Draco asked, looking around the room.

“Oh I have a few in mind, where do you want to play?” she asked, walking out into the lit hallway.

“Why not the bedroom, we can get comfortable on the bed while you teach me,” Draco suggested.

“That does sound cozy, I suppose we could do that, let’s go,” Hermione agreed, jumping onto the bed and crossing her legs. Draco quickly joined her, loving the calm atmosphere between them, watching as she pulled out the cards and started shuffling them.

“Okay, have you ever heard of the game ‘Go Fish’ or maybe ‘Old Maid?’”

“No, at least not those names, I might know the games though, which do you want to play?”

“I like ‘Go Fish’ more, and we can either play with pairs or with books, although I like playing with pairs more. It’s not as frustrating in my opinion. So what you do is, we take turns asking the other player for cards,” she began, dealing a practice hand. “So I’ll ask you if you have anything that matches my cards, and I have to have it in my hand to ask for it. If you have a card matching the one I asked for, you have to give it to me. If you don’t have it, you tell me to ‘Go Fish’ and I pick up a card from the pile. And any pairs you have when we first deal out the cards, you get to put down. I also play that if you pick up a matching card when you ‘Go Fish’ you can keep that pair too.”

Draco followed her demonstration, easily understanding the rules, “Sounds like fun, and in the actual game we don’t see each other’s cards right?”

“Correct. That would just defeat the purpose.”

Draco nodded in understanding, handing her back the cards so she could shuffle them back in and deal out a real hand this time. He looked down at his cards, various numbers in suits of wands, goblets, brooms, and cauldrons, pulling out a pair of fives before arranging his cards. Hermione noticed, smiling to herself, she’d have to tell him not to arrange his cards, that made it too easy to figure out what he had. Next round. Since she didn’t have any pairs, Draco got to go first, quickly asking for a two. Hermione surrendered her card, eagerly waiting for her turn.  
The first game went by fast enough, Hermione cheating just a little bit by using his arranging against him. Draco muttered something about her having an advantage because she’s obviously played the game more, to which she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I only knew what you had because you organized your cards silly. And it wasn’t cheating, I was just observant and used all the knowledge I could gather,” she explained, cheeky grin on her face.

Draco’s jaw dropped, she had been cheating? He picked up the pairs he had been counting and threw them across the bed at her, “No fair? I had no idea you would stoop so low, and on a novice.”

“It wasn’t cheating, it’s not like I knew for sure what cards you had, I was just making an educated guess. Now you know, don’t organize your cards and I’ll have a harder time.”

Draco grumbled as he helped her put all the cards together, offering to shuffle this time; despite playing at a disadvantage the first round, he was having fun. He dealt the cards out and they prepared to play a second round, Draco reminding himself not to organize his cards. Hermione smiled over at him innocently before asking for her first card, bursting out in giggles as he handed it over.

“I swear, I was just guessing.”

The game continued for quite a few rounds, Draco quickly getting the hang of the game now that he wasn’t giving away too much information. After the pair had tired of playing ‘Go Fish’ Hermione suggested they play a game of ‘Speed” instead, saying it was much more exciting. Hermione explained the rules, going over them slowly since there were more of them. After a few slow practice rounds, Draco felt he was ready to take on the challenge, liking this game much better; he had Seeker reflexes after all, even if they were a little rusty. Draco still lost the first few rounds, still remembering all the rules but as they progressed, his reflexes came back to him and he began winning a few rounds. Before they knew it, Poppy appeared in the bedroom, asking if they were ready for dinner.

“Is it dinner time already? That went a lot faster than I was expecting, how many rounds have we played?”

Hermione thought for a moment, “I’m not sure, I lost track after the score was 10-15. And we played at least 10 rounds of ‘Go Fish’ I’d say.”

Draco stood up and stretched, having been sitting for the last few hours, his stomach growling as he got off the bed.

“I guess it really is time for dinner, my stomach just told me, what are we having Poppy?”

“Poppy has made some roast with potatoes and carrots, would you like to be served here?”

“No, we’ll dine in the sunroom, thank you.”

Poppy curtsied and left to get the food, Hermione following the blond out of the bedroom and down the hall. She sat next to him, wanting to feel close to him, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Tonight was a lot of fun Ace, I really needed this. What do we get to do tomorrow?”

“I have no idea, sleeping in sounds wonderful though, after that I guess we’ll have to brainstorm.”

Hermione nodded her head, she liked the sound of sleeping in a bit, anything else they could figure out later. They both tucked into their meals as Poppy brought them their plates, savoring the meal; it was one of their favorites. They ate quietly, just enjoying each other’s company and good food; when both of them finished, they lay back in the cushions and relaxed.

“That was wonderful, Poppy makes really good food,” Hermione sighed blissfully.

“Yea, she does, I don’t know what I’d do without Poppy honestly.”

“You’d probably starve.”

“I know how to cook! Mum showed me when I was younger,” Draco told her.

Hermione sat up, “Your mom knows how to cook?”

“Yea, I know it’s a bit of a surprise, given she’s always had elves around to do it. But she enjoys it. She hasn’t cooked in awhile, but when I was little, and Father worked more, she’d always cook me lunch. At first the elves were beside themselves but they learned to leave her be.”

“I’m really glad to hear that. It’s hard not to be slightly biased against Purebloods some times, especially with how you acted in school. I mean, Mrs. Weasley is Pureblooded too, but she just seems so different, you know?”

“She was never raised as an elitist so of course she turned out differently. There were a few Purebloods that didn’t let things go to their heads. But then there were the well off families like mine; they were raised with more restrictions and higher expectations.”

“Yea, it’s the same in the Muggle world, those who have money are better than others and are expected to act like it. It makes you mum that much more likable, knowing that she cooks for herself,” Hermione said, smiling.

“Maybe I can cook you something one of these days. Mind you I can’t do anything too fancy, but I’m not without skill.”

“I’d enjoy that, and I’d be happy to teach you a few new dishes. I enjoy cooking as well, I’d always make a lot of desserts with Mum when I was younger,” Hermione reminisced, thinking of her parents.

“Hey Hermione, what happened to your parents?”

“I, uh, modified their memories and sent them away. I didn’t want… anyone finding them and hurting them because of me, or because they are Muggles.”

“You’d go through all that for them? Modifying memories is difficult, that must have been really hard for you to do,” Draco sympathized, squeezing her hand.

“It was hard, but it would have been a lot harder if something happened to them because I was too weak to protect them. I plan on finding them when this is all over, if I’m still alive that is.”

“Don’t say that, you have to make it. If you can’t survive, then there is no hope for someone like me, Hermione.”

“This is just all so difficult, I’m always wondering if they are okay, if anyone has found them yet. And now I’m hoping that Ron and Harry are alright, and everyone else in the Order. I wonder if Harry knows I’m okay, if anyone on the Potterwatch network has said anything.”

“How do they get their information?”

Hermione shrugged, “Honestly I’m not sure, Lee is pretty resourceful though.”

“They might not have mentioned anything, simply because they don’t want to give away that you’ve been in contact with them. Plus if they said something, I have no doubt Potter would have tried storming the Manor by now, regardless of the risks.”

“Yea, those are pretty good points, the Order is very careful. I wonder how they’ll spin it when I’m rescued; I wonder what the Order has planned for us.”

“We’ll find out more on Sunday I’m sure.”

Hermione nodded in agreement, they’d just have to be patient, the members of the Order knew more than she did right now, they would know they best way to save them. Draco suggested they head back to the room to play a few more rounds of cards and call it an early night, he figured they could use the rest. Hermione readily agreed, looking forward to sleeping for once. The pair decided to play ‘Go Fish’ again, so they wouldn’t get all riled up by playing ‘Speed’ or ‘Exploding Snap’ and they’d be able to relax. As soon as they sat down, Poppy appeared in the room, holding a tray with two mugs and a few jars, coming over and setting the tray on the bedside table.

“Poppy has brought hot chocolate.”

“Oh, that’s just wonderful Poppy, how did you know?” Hermione asked as she picked up a mug.

“Poppy knows today was stressful and Mistress Malfoy suggested something cozy. There are extras on the tray.”

“Poppy, you are wonderful, you should just take the rest of the night off,” Draco said, finding the marshmallows and putting some in his mug.

“But there is still much work to be done Master,” Poppy squeaked.

“Okay Poppy, if you want, you can do it. But the house won’t fall apart if you let the other elves do some of your work. You’re such a hard worker, I’m glad to have you,” he praised, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

Poppy curtsied and left them, returning to her work, Hermione smiled as she watched the elf leave. When elves were treated like this, she was happy, still she wished they had more rights, but maybe that was something she could work on later.

“I love hot chocolate, especially with some cinnamon sprinkled in it, and melting marshmallows, just delicious.”

“This is a great way to end the day, we should have done this sooner,” Draco agreed.

A few rounds of cards and a mug full of hot chocolate later, the two decided they should head to bed, Hermione getting up to go change; they had already decided that she should sleep with him again tonight. This time it was more for comfort than safety, but they both felt the same way. Hermione quickly got dressed and ready for bed, not forgetting to brush her teeth. She was humming as she climbed into the large bed, getting comfortable under the beige cotton sheets while waiting for Draco to finish up.

The blonde was leaning on the doorframe, watching the petite witch as she fumbled with the pillows; the sight of her in this intimate setting warmed his heart. Quietly he closed the bathroom door and approached the bed, flopping onto it unceremoniously.

“Draco, you’ve messed up all the covers.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Draco said, kicking the covers around his feet.

Hermione laughed at his antics, grabbing one of the pillows and thumping him over the head, getting a playful growl in response. Suddenly he leapt towards her, pushing her back into the pillows, fingers tickling her sides.

“No, no, no tickling, that’s not fair!” Hermione gasped, trying to squirm away.

“Too bad,” Draco laughed, continuing his assault.

They rolled around on the bed, pillows and sheets in disarray until the two of them collapsed, gasping for air. Hermione slapped Draco’s arm, unable to say anything as she still tried to catch her breath. Draco leaned up on one arm, looking down at the witch next to him, smile growing on his face. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, wrapping her in a one armed hug and pulling her close.

“I’ve never had this before you know, you’re not going to leave right?” he whispered in her ear.

“No, I won’t leave. This is new to me, and I really like it. I never knew how easy it would be to just… be happy, but that’s how it is when I’m with you. Even in this horrible situation, you make me smile all the time, and you know when I’m upset. Why would I leave?”

“I don’t know. Because I’ve never really had good things like this in my life; this is just so open and free. I know I can say whatever I’m thinking and you’ll understand what I’m feeling. I’ve never felt the need to be close to someone, but when I see you, I just want to be close to you, touching you. I have to see you smile, your smile lights up the room you know. I love it, I love you Hermione.”

“Isn’t it amazing, how quick this happened? I’ve only been here for a week, well not even a full week, and I already care for you so much, is this normal?”

“I highly doubt it’s normal, but these aren’t exactly normal circumstances, we’re under a lot of pressure right now. I think it’s perfectly reasonable that we became attached to someone that treats us like a human being. I believe these feelings are real, just sped up a bit; but regardless, I’m happy.”

“Me too. I never would have thought I’d be feeling so happy while there is a war going on, but I feel stronger now, like there is even more worth fighting for,” she agreed.

Sitting up, they crawled back to the head of the bed, straightening the covers and pillows; gratefully climbing under the warm sheets. Draco opened his arms, inviting Hermione to curl up with him; she accepted, laying her head on his chest and snuggling up against him. He ran his fingers through her hair as he stared up at the pale ceiling, all of this had been rather sudden, especially given the circumstances. But he wasn’t going to question any of it, as long as his mother was safe and he had Hermione with him, he was happy; that was all he needed to know. He heard her breathing deepen as she fell asleep, her arms relaxing at his sides; carefully, he leaned down and kissed her head before grabbing his wand to turn off the lights. Within moments he was fast asleep.


	21. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It happens, Hermione escapes, with Draco and Narcissa at her side.

*Saturday Morning*

Draco woke up as Poppy Apparated into his room, coming up to the bed in a hurry, and shaking him awake. Groggily opening his eyes, he sat up and stretched, looking over at the elf.

"Master, you must get up, it is urgent, Mistress warned me to get you right away!"

Sitting up straighter, he felt more awake, "Poppy, what's wrong? What did Mother say?"

"Please, she wants to see you right away, I'm to stay with Miss Hermione and get her ready, please hurry Sir."

"Get her ready, for what?" Draco tried to ask as the elf pulled him out of the bed, her small hands pushing on his legs to prod him out the door.

Realizing that Poppy was in quite a rush, he let himself be led out into the hall, agreeing to see his Mother right away. As he took off down the hall, he heard Poppy promise to stay with Hermione. Worried that something was terribly wrong, he hurried down the stairs and to the study, still in his pajamas pants and without a shirt.

"Mother, what is wrong?" he asked, seeing her in a frantic state, running here and there, things in disarray.

"Draco, we must hurry. We are to leave the Manor right now, I've been packing as much as I can, but I'll need you to grab all the last minute things. Hermione too, grab anything you think is important. I've already grabbed clothes for both of you with Poppy's help. I even sent an owl to Mr. Weasley, hopefully he gets it. I know his home is protected but I'm hoping someone sees Artemis flying around. We haven't much time, go and finish packing, here's your bag, and Hermione's as well. I'll explain later," Narcissa said, handing a satchel to Draco as well as Hermione's beaded purse.

Mutely nodding, he grabbed both and ran back to his bedroom, completely unsure of what was going on. As he burst through his doors, he saw Hermione, already dressed, a small stack of books piled onto the bed; her curls wildly bouncing as she paced.

"Draco, what's going on, Poppy won't tell me anything, she just told me to start grabbing things we might need. Is that my bag?"

"Huh? Oh, yea, Mum gave it to me, here, put some of the books in it, Mum said Poppy already packed some clothes and such. I'm going to check my office and grab anything that we might need, is that all the books?" he asked, hastily throwing on a shirt and finding some pants, forgetting to be embarrassed about changing in front of her.

"I'll go double check, I have no idea what might be important, maybe I'll bring some food too?" she called over her shoulder, both of them rushing to different ends of the hallway.

Draco pulled sheets of parchment out of his desk, looking for anything that he might need or be able to use. He saw Hermione's letters on the bed with the books already, so he grabbed the list his Aunt gave him, as well as some other sheets. Opening the bag, he saw a parchment folder nestled on top of his clothes, pulling it out, he stuffed the papers in there and went to find Hermione. She was in the library, digging around in her bag, a few books still piled at her feet. With a frustrated cry, she dropped her bag and covered her eyes, falling to the floor.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"My wand, it's not in my bag, where is it? I can't leave here without it, it's my wand Draco," Hermione sobbed, at her wits end.

"Mother might know where it is, we'll find it before we go, I promise. Do you have everything? How are those books fitting in there?" he wondered, the image of the books disappearing broke through the fog in his head.

"Oh, it's an Undetectable Extension Charm, as well as a Feather-Light Charm, there is a lot of stuff in here, but no clothes. All my bathroom stuff though, Poppy where are my clothes?"

"Poppy put them in Master Draco's bag, clothes and important papers in there, smaller items and books in Miss Hermione's bag."

Draco looked down at his bag, his clothes were in here, along with Hermione's? Mum must have done the same spellwork as Hermione, the bag was definitely too small to fit all of that. Shrugging it off, he grabbed Hermione's hand, pulling her off the floor, "Come on, if that's everything let's go find Mother and figure out what's going on."

With one final look around the library, she nodded her head, ready to go. They ran down the stairs, Poppy chasing after them, not wanting to get left behind. They skidded to a stop in the drawing room, everything was a mess.

"Mother! Where are you?"

"Draco, I'm here, everything's okay. Do you have everything?" Narcissa asked, coming from one of the other hallways.

Before he could answer, there was a loud bang outside causing everyone to jump; Draco pulled his wand out of his pocket, striding to the front doors. Carefully he looked out the window, seeing a few robed figures coming through the smoking gate.

"Someone's coming, get back, they blasted through the gate, I'll see what they want."

"No Draco, they are here to help, they must be from the Order, which means they got my owl. Get away from the door, we have to make it look as though they came in by force."

Understanding, Draco quickly stepped away from the door, shielding Hermione with his body as the door blew off its hinges. Narcissa drew herself up tall, welcoming the robed figures into the Manor; Draco watched as they continued to lightly trash the main rooms of the house. After only a few moments, they came back, drawing back their hoods to reveal themselves.

"George? Oh my gosh, George is that really you?" Hermione cried out, rushing to the familiar redhead and jumping into his arms; she couldn't believe he was really here.

"Mione, you're really okay, Fred told me what Malfoy had said but, I had to see you for myself," George told her, squeezing her tight and twirling her around.

Draco's heart tightened and his jaw clenched; he couldn't help but feel jealous over their reunion, even though it was their right to be ecstatic. Slightly ashamed, he looked towards the other man that had come in and was talking with Narcissa, Mr. Weasley himself. They were talking quietly and he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he recognized the determined look in his Mother's eyes. Before he could walk any closer, he was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts, George coming over to him with Hermione and clapping him on the shoulder.

"Thank you. I have no idea what happened here, but I can see with my own two eyes that Hermione is safe and I know that a lot of that has to do with you," George told him, a fierce look in his eyes.

Draco nodded, not sure what to say in response. Hermione might look okay, but he'd be amazed if she didn't have nightmares about her time with Bellatrix. The war was going to leave scars on all of them, he just wanted to do his part to keep the scars to a minimum. He could understand that the twin didn't know how to feel about him just yet, the look in his eyes still held distrust, but he couldn't ignore what his friend had been telling him. If Draco knew Hermione, she had been reassuring her friend the minute she was hugging him and she'd continue to do so until they accepted him in the Order. Looking down at Hermione's smiling face, he wished that she had enough strength to convince them of his redemption; it was going to be a long road. But despite all those thoughts running through his head, he knew he had a smile on his face as he looked in her eyes; she just had that affect on him.

The moment that passed between them wasn't missed by George, he clearly saw the level of trust the two of them had. A lot must have happened here between everyone for her to look at him that way. He wasn't sure what to do about it but then again, it might not even be his place to say, although he was sure Ron would say enough for everyone. But instead of interrupting them, he turned and took a few steps towards his dad.

"So what's the plan exactly, now that we're here?"

"Well, now that the Manor has been tossed about, that should make them wonder at what happened here, all we need to do now is figure out which ward Malfoy put up and we can get Hermione out of here. We managed to get rid of all the other wards but the Anti-Apparition ward so we should still be undetected, Mrs. Malfoy here went ahead and talked with all the elves, told them to stay in the kitchen and busy themselves with a feast for tonight."

"Yes, I managed to convince them that I received an urgent letter from Lucius and made it seem as though I had received good news. Truth is he told me there was a big development that occurred and he wouldn't be back until late. I'm quite certain the news is bad, but this seemed like the best time to leave. The sooner the better don't you agree Draco? I know this is all sudden, but I've been preparing ever since young Hermione was captured. I knew if I could show her our good merits, she'd help us to join the good side. I have an idea of which spell he used but I don't want to break the ward until we are absolutely ready to go. Do you have some place for us to go Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes Ma'am I do, I'm to escort you while George can bring your son, Hermione is already able to travel to our home. We can discuss everything there in further detail, if you're ready?"

"Wait, Narcissa, do you have any idea where my wand is? It wasn't in my bag, I can't leave without it, please."

"Oh Dear, I'm sorry, I got it out of the safe earlier, I was in such a hurry I must have forgotten to give it to Draco. Although, I'm not sure what might happen if you take the wand, given your situation. I've done some research but a lot is still unclear to me," Narcissa explained, digging Hermione's wand out of her bag and holding it out.

Hermione bit her lip, she wanted to reach out and grab it so bad, but what if something happened? Narcissa had just brought a new problem to her attention, she didn't want to risk anything bad happening, to her or her wand. Raising her hand, she stepped forward, the wood within grasp but she stopped short and dropped her hand. Narcissa started to drop her hand as well, unsure of what to say, but her son stepped forward and gently took the wand; he turned and pulled the beaded purse off Hermione's shoulder. Swiftly he opened the clasp and deposited the wand in one of the pockets before closing it and slipping back onto her shoulder.

"It will be just fine in there until we figure something out, although, if we don't know how the wand will affect her, maybe we should have Poppy take her to the hideout, just to be cautious? Would that be okay Poppy?" he asked, turning to the small elf.

Poppy's eyes grew wide, "Master isn't leaving Poppy behind?"

"Of course not Poppy, why would you think that? You've been such a help to me, I'm not going to leave you in this place with my father. Miss Hermione and I would both be amiss without your company," Draco assured the elf, bending down and pulling her into a quick hug.

"Oh Master, you have made Poppy so happy, thank you," Poppy sobbed, relieved that she wasn't getting left behind. Draco stood, nodding at Poppy as she wiped her eyes.

George shared a surprised look with his father, Draco Malfoy had comforted an elf and asked if she could bring Hermione for them, not giving a single order. He never thought he'd witness something like this, he blinked at his dad, making sure his father had witnessed this as well. Fred was definitely going to hear all about this when they got back to the Burrow, this was great stuff. Just then Mrs. Malfoy straightened her robes and laid her hand on Arthur's arm.

"Are we ready to go? I do believe I've gotten everything important, if everyone else is ready?"

Nods all around, George stepping up to Draco, and Hermione grabbed Poppy's hand. Narcissa pulled out her wand and with a flourish banished the ward keeping Hermione in the Manor. As the magic faded, the group hurried outside, Narcissa putting her wand away as they reached the Disapparition point outside the gate. Arthur and Narcissa urged George and Draco to go first, to be there once Hermione arrived. With a quick wave, George planted a firm hand on Draco's shoulder, turning and Disapparating them both to the Burrow. Afterwards it was Hermione's turn, she felt lightheaded all of a sudden, was she really going to escape this time?

"Poppy, will you be able to take me there, even though you've never been there before?"

"Yes Miss, Poppy will find it just fine. Elf magic of course."

Hermione squeezed Poppy's hand, feeling reassured, and with a pop, the pair disappeared, leaving the two adults behind.

"No time like the present, off we go Mrs. Malfoy," Arthur said, smiling at the witch on his arm; both of them turning and leaving the Manor behind.


	22. At The Burrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione is happy to be safe, although how accepting with the Weaselys be with Draco?

*At The Burrow*

As soon as Poppy and Hermione steadied themselves on the grassy hill, Hermione was pulled into a bone crushing hug by an exuberant Molly Weasley. Hermione could feel tears stinging her eyes as she was pulled away from the Apparition point, making room for the last two. As soon as everyone arrived, there was a flurry of activity as they were all rushed inside The Burrow. Once Hermione was inside, she was pulled into another hug, this time she was sandwiched between Fred and Ginny. There was so much noise in the house, everyone was trying to talk at the same time, poor Draco and Narcissa had no idea what to do. Draco tried to school his face into his usual mask of indifference as he looked around the kitchen; he had been prepared for the slight messy appearance but he couldn't deny that this house definitely felt warm and welcoming. He looked down at his feet as he realized just how much the Weasley's had, even if they were short on money.

Narcissa reached over and took her son's hand, she understood how out of place he felt. Seeing a home in such a condition was shocking to say the least, but with seven children to look after, it was no surprise the house was in less than ideal condition. As the noise died down, and Hermione was released from the crushing hugs, she ran over and pulled both the Malfoys further into the kitchen, hugging them both as well.

"I can't believe it, I'm free, we're free! I'm here, at The Burrow, with all of you guys here as well, I never thought I'd be here again," Hermione said, tears spilling down her cheeks. "You have no idea how much this means to me, that you've opened your house to the Malfoys as well Mrs. Weasley. They've both done a lot for me and I couldn't have survived without them."

Her resolve cracked then, sobs escaping her throat; she raised her hands to her face, not wanting to cry in front of everyone. Before anyone else could react, Draco came up behind her and wrapped her in his arms, whispering in her ear. Finding comfort, she turned and hugged him fiercely, still afraid to let go, even though they were safe now.

"Come, let's get out of the kitchen, some place more comfortable, I'm sure you all have a lot of catching up to do," Narcissa said quietly, softly nudging the couple.

"Oh yes of course, come on, off you lot go, into the family room. There's plenty of space to sit in there, everyone go get comfortable. I'll start on a late breakfast, I'm sure you are hungry you poor dears," Mrs. Weasley agreed, sheparding all her kids into the other room. Mr. Weasley followed them as well but Narcissa stayed in the kitchen.

"I also want to thank you Mrs. Weasley, your hospitality really means a lot. I know there has been a lot of bad history between our families and I want to apologize," Narcissa began.

"Oh, kids will be kids. I know that our children were raised differently, I can't hold that against your son. Your husband has always been a thorn in Arthur's side, but I don't think there is anything that will change that. What's important is that the both of you decided to take charge and make your own decisions. Please sit, would you like some tea Mrs. Malfoy?"

Narcissa smiled at the shorter witch as she sat, "Tea would be lovely, and do call me Narcissa. Last names feel much too formal in such a home."

Mrs. Weasley blushed at her words and she busied herself with the tea; she had been sure that this woman would be snide and uncomfortable; surely she'd make nasty remarks about the state of the kitchen. But she had been wrong, so far she had been polite and sincere, it was unexpected to say the least. As she brought over the tea and assured Narcissa that she could call her Molly, she spotted Poppy standing off in the corner playing with her pillowcase.

"Would you like some tea Dear? Please make yourself comfortable."

Poppy gave a startled squeak as she was addressed, shyly coming over to the table to sit next to Narcissa.

"Oh Poppy, forgive me, I had thought you followed Draco. Please sit with us," Narcissa smiled, patting the seat next to her. "Allow me to introduce you, Poppy, this is Molly Weasley, the lady of the house, Molly, this is Draco's elf Poppy."

Poppy stood up on the seat and curtsied, happy to meet another witch, from what she could see, this lady was very nice. Molly quickly grabbed another cup and poured the elf some tea, the three of them settling into a comfortable silence, not knowing what to say just yet. As the ladies enjoyed their tea, Poppy looked around the kitchen, wondering where their elf was; Poppy knew the Weasley's were a Pureblood family, although Mister Lucius didn't speak highly of them.

"Miss Molly, where is your elf to do chores?"

"Oh, we don't have one Poppy, I do all the work myself."

"By yourself? But you have such a large family, surely Miss needs help?"

"It's not so bad, especially now that most of the kids are out of the house, but when they were younger, this place was a right mess. Sometimes I miss it though, having all the kids here, it's always so lively with all the boys running around," Molly chuckled, reminiscing about the kids.

Narcissa laughed as well, "I can't imagine having that many children running around all at once. I had my hands full with just Draco! And the stories I've heard about those twins of yours, quite into mischief those two."

"Fred and George? Oh you wouldn't believe how much stuff I've had to confiscate from them over the years. But I guess they really had their heart set on their jokes, they've even got their own shop up and running," Molly told her, the three of them enjoying their tea.

"You should go and meet everyone, I'll go ahead and start lunch," Molly suggested as she finished her tea.

"Nonsense, I'd love to help, I'm sure they've got everything handled in there. Poppy and I would gladly to lend you a hand. I promise I can cook, although I might be a little rusty."

"Oh, having another cook in the house, it's a dream come true! Well if you insist on helping, I'll gladly accept, there are a lot of mouths to feed here."

Poppy hopped from her seat, picking up the teacups and kettle and carrying it over to the sink; the small elf was glad for something to do, it took her mind off of being in a strange new house.

As they started cooking, everyone else sat in the family room gathered around Hermione. As her tears let up and her sniffles subsided, she got more comfortable on the couch, Draco never leaving her side. Hermione could tell everyone wanted to hear about how she was doing, and what it had been like at the Manor. Taking a deep breath, and taking Draco's hand for strength, she looked around at all the redheads around her, smiling because she was finally reunited with them.

"Okay, who wants to ask the first question?"

Draco laughed as everyone around them started asking questions and raising their hands, like they were all back in school. He couldn't imagine what this house must be like during the holidays, all the Weasleys here and celebrating together. He relaxed and sat back, rubbing his thumb across Hermione's fingers as she waited for everyone to calm down. The youngest Weasley was sitting on her other side, practically begging to hear about what happened; she eagerly promised to kick someone's butt if they needed it, looking over at him.

"I guess I'll start at the beginning, and no Ginny, you don't have to hunt down anyone. In fact you shouldn't be getting into trouble at all, instead you should be focusing on your schoolwork!"

"Not now Mione, I want to hear about you."

Hermione sighed, shaking her head at the younger witch, "Well I'm sure all of you know what happened the night I was captured, I can't imagine that Harry and Ron would have kept it quiet."

"We knew right away, they Apparated straight to Bill's cottage and stayed there for a bit afterwards. It took a lot of convincing from Mum and Dad that they don't just rush off and storm the Manor looking for you," George explained.

"Well that makes it a little easier I suppose. God it feels like I've been away for a lot longer than a week. So much has happened," she paused, looking down at her lap.

"You don't have to tell us everything, and Draco alluded to some of what happened. Just remember, you're safe now, okay Mione?" Fred assured her.

Hermione smiled, glad for his words, "Thanks Fred, that helps! I'm sure you know about the biggest part, the whole slave thing, I-"

Ginny almost exploded then, "WHAT? What are you talking about, what did Malfoy do to you?" She tried climbing over her friend to get to the blond on the other side. Draco paled, he didn't want to get in a fight with her, she was dangerous; he held up his hand, trying to calm her down but his words were drowned out.

"What does she mean 'slave' Malfoy?"

"Ginny, it's alright, he didn't do anything, I promise, let me explain," Hermione pleaded, hands on the younger girl's shoulders.

Ginny regained her calm and sat back, glaring at the rest of her family, "Why didn't the rest of you tell me? I know you were aware of it!"

Fred and George looked down at their hands and Charlie suddenly found the ceiling to be the most interesting thing in the room.

"Ginny, it's not like we could send you an owl while you were at school, it wasn't safe. And besides, your Mother and I decided it would be better to not distract you with such news," Arthur explained to his daughter.

Ginny just crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at any of them, sitting back against the cushions and waiting for Hermione to continue.

"Sorry, Gin, I didn't realize you hadn't known. After Harry and everyone managed to escape, I was brought before You-Know-Who, I thought I was going to be tortured but something else happened instead. He called Draco forward and cast this horrible spell over me and bound me to him; in essence I became his slave. I had to follow any and all orders he'd give me and I was forbidden to hurt him or myself. I'm not even sure if I can use magic, we're still trying to figure it all out. I thought that my world was ending, I was going to be stuck to the biggest prat in school, he'd have me do the most humiliating things."

"Hey!" Draco cut in, looking hurt.

"What, that's what I was thinking at the time, I mean you were just awful to me at school and you know it!" Hermione argued. When he shrugged in response, she continued, "Right after the spell was cast, Draco took me to his wing of the Manor. But nothing happened, he had Poppy bring me some food and apologized to me. It was the last thing I had expected."

Hermione looked over at her companion and smiled as a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. He didn't know how to handle this kind of attention, it was all new to him. He tried not to look at anyone as they started asking questions, preferring to focus on Hermione.

"So he apologized right away? How did you know he was telling the truth? He's a Slytherin after all," Fred stated.

"I didn't believe him at first, but I didn't want to argue. Although, to hear the things he talked about, and the look in his eyes, I could tell that he was feeling truly remorseful for what had happened. The first night was rough, I'm amazed I got any sleep but, I was just so exhausted I didn't even try to escape."

Ginny got a sly smile on her face, "Did you have to sleep in the same room as Draco?"

"Ginny! No, I had my own quarters as a matter of fact!" Hermione cried out. Ginny cackled as both of their faces turned beet red.

Hermione cleared her throat, "Anyways, the next day I was looking through the books in Draco's personal library hoping to find something about how to get rid of this spell. It was a pretty quiet day, mostly reading and stopping for food now and again."

Draco cut in, noticing the rising blush on her face, "Hermione even gave me the idea of trying to get a message out to you guys, although I couldn't have her sending an owl. But I had to go out on Tuesday, which I'm sure you know about. That was when I managed to pass on Hermione's note to uh, Bill, who I had noticed had been following me. Honestly I'm glad he figured it out, I'm sure he thought I was trying to poison him or something."

"Tuesday was an eventful day to say the least," Hermione whispered, hands tightly clenched in her lap.

Draco's eyes darkened at her words, his mind vividly recalled the terrified state he had found her in; trying to ease her pain, he pulled her into a hug, "It's okay, he can't hurt you anymore, I promise."

Hermione shuddered, trying to block out the memories of his hands all over her body; she remembered how dirty she felt, like she'd never be clean again. But Draco was right, she was away from him now, safely tucked away with the Weasleys.

Ginny took in the sight of her best friend trembling in Malfoy's arms, what could have happened to her? Hermione was one of the strongest people she knew, she shouldn't be feeling this way, it wasn't right. She gently leaned over and pressed her body against Hermione's, setting her cheek on her friend's shoulder. In that moment, she just wanted to take her friend's pain away and give her some strength; Hermione had friends and needed to be reassured.

"Mione, it's over now, whatever happened, it's in the past. We're all here for you now."

"Thanks Gin, that means a lot to me, I'm happy to be here with all of you."

Before anything else was said, Molly called all of her children into the kitchen, lunch was ready. Slowly they all stood, smiling at Hermione and encouraging her to be strong; Hermione could feel tears building in her eyes, all the stress from the past week just came to a head and wanted to spill out. But she put on a brave face, she didn't want Mrs. Weasley to worry about her right now. As they entered the cozy kitchen, Draco hung back in the doorway, unsure of where he should sit, or if they even wanted him to sit there.

Fred and George took their usually seats and pulled Charlie down next to them, all eagerly looking at the food in the center of the table. Arthur sat at the head of the table and unfolded the newspaper in front of him, scanning the words while he waited. Draco continued to watch the family as they all found their places at the table, Mrs. Weasley bringing over the last few plates and Ginny pulling Hermione down to sit. His mom joined him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder to reassure him, she knew the Weasleys would welcome them.


	23. A Bit of Relaxation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Narcissa do their best to fit in with the Weasleys, and Molly of course makes sure everyone is on their best behavior. Draco really starts to see what makes the Weasleys so special. Everyone enjoys a few hours to just be carefree again.

As Molly straightened her apron and double checked to make sure she had brought all the food, she noticed the two newcomers hovering by the doorway. "Oh come sit you two, there is plenty for us all, don't be afraid!"

Draco nodded shyly, "Thanks again Mrs. Weasley."

"Think nothing of it Dearie," Molly assured them, herding them to their chairs.

Narcissa guided her son to the chair next to Hermione before seating herself between him and Molly. Narcissa unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap, smiling at the twins across the table and waiting for someone to speak.

Arthur was about to reach forward and start serving himself some of the oatmeal when his wife cleared her throat, giving him a significant look.

"What? Oh right, excuse me," Arthur cleared his throat, "I want to welcome the Malfoys into the Order as well as into our home. The next few days are going to be challenging for everyone but please do your best to welcome them both. Please, make yourselves at home."

Hermione smiled at his words; Narcissa and Draco both nodded, grateful to be acknowledged. With that, everyone began serving food and passing dishes around the table. It wasn't long until the table was filled with the regular noise of everyone laughing and talking. Narcissa wasn't sure how to join in, the meals at the manor had been quiet lately, she felt out of place.

"Hey, Mrs. Malfoy, what was it like for you, when Draco got his acceptance letter to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked, trying to include the witch.

Narcissa smiled at the youngest Weasley, pleased that she thought of her, "Well, it was almost guaranteed, Draco had been showing signs of magic since he was just 4 years old. Lucius and I debated over whether he should go to Hogwarts or Durmstrang; I'm glad we decided on Hogwarts. I was never a fan of that other school, they were too heavily influenced by the Dark Arts, I could never allow my son to go there. The day we took him to King's Cross, I tried so hard not to cry, my only son was off to school."

"Thank goodness you refrained from crying, would have embarrassed me even more than you did," Draco confided.

"Oh like I would have been the only mother there crying. It's nothing to be ashamed of Draco."

Ginny snickered, "Yea, Mum cried when it was my turn to go, like a week before I even went."

"Oh Ginny, I wasn't that bad!"

"Yes you were Mum," Fred and George disagreed.

"When you are parents, you'll understand," Narcissa told them, patting Molly's hand.

"It wasn't too big of deal for my Mum and Dad, in a way," Hermione explained, placing a few pancakes on her plate. "I had already been to school, so this wasn't the first time they saw me off. Although it was to a magic school, and it was going to be for the year, but I think they handled it well."

"Ah yes, Muggles send their kids off to school earlier than magic schools, I hadn't taken that into account," Mr. Weasley thought aloud. "Must have been the same for Harry then, he had no one to see him off, that's what Molly told me."

"Yea, the Dursleys wanted nothing to do with the magical world. He got on the train by himself, with no idea what was in store for him," Hermione said to no one in particular.

Narcissa gasped, "He had no one with him? I had no idea, that must have been confusing. How did he even get on the Platform?"

"Mum showed him, poor bloke had nothing to lose, so he came up and asked," Fred told her.

George laughed, "Yea, we could tell he was a tad nervous, but he screwed up that Gryffindor courage and found him a way onto the Platform. Even made friends with our silly brother on the ride over, go figure, never thought our little brother would be best friends with The Boy Who Lived."

"Well, it was very kind of you to show him the way and welcome him into your home, I'm sure that Harry will be forever grateful," Narcissa said, smiling around the table.

Draco agreed, "And now you've opened your home to us for the time being, we'll never forget this. Despite everything that my father said, and everything I repeated, the Weasley family is full of great witches and wizards. I'm sorry that circumstances hadn't allowed us to become friends back at school."

Fred looked at his twin, smile on his face, "Well now, if that had happened, how much fun would Hogwarts have been?"

Everyone around the table laughed, the twins knowing just how to lighten the mood; the rest of the meal was spent laughing and sharing stories of childhood. Draco could feel his spirits lift as he sat with this family, everyone ignoring the dark cloud looming over them; the war was still raging and they still had the Dark Lord to deal with. Draco could honestly say that this was the best breakfast he'd had in a long time, it made his day to see Hermione smiling so much. Before long the family migrated back to the family room, Narcissa and Molly staying back to clean up.

Draco stood back, leaning against the wall and watched as Hermione was surround by this family once more; it was clear that she as much of a sister to everyone as Ginny. He continued to watch as one of them, had to have been Charlie, was filling Hermione in on the latest news; it wasn't long before the twins joined in with their usual commentary. Watching all of this, Draco felt a lump settle in his stomach, a cold knot that he couldn't quite define. Everyone here was so happy, even though two of them (for of course Harry was considered family) were on the run. Everyone was on the lookout for Potter and his friend, they had even been caught not long ago. How could they all be sitting here acting like there wasn't a care in the world? Draco knew that Mr. Weasley still worked at the Ministry, although of course he was very carefully monitored. But he never stepped out of line, and kept all Order business out of the Ministry.

As the conversations slowed down, Fred stood and approached the blond, casually leaning against the wall next to him. A moment passed in silence, neither sure how to start a dialogue, Draco raised his usual eyebrow, wondering what the guy wanted.

"So, Malfoy, well I suppose it's Draco now isn't it? I don't want to rush you or anything, but you do know we're going to need some information sooner rather than later right?"

Draco gave him a curt nod, "I'm prepared for that, I've brought papers from home, and I'm sure Mum knows stuff that she's willing to share."

"That's helpful, it really means a lot to the Order; Dad said it might wait until tomorrow, since this was all last minute. That will give everyone time to open up their schedule and talk with you both," he told him, almost walking away. "And before I forget," he started, turning back, "A lot of the members aren't going to like this, even if you are willing to help us out. But Hermione is very adamant about it and Dad agrees with her, so I'll stand behind you tomorrow. You've got Weasley support mate."

Draco chuckled, "Thanks, with the Weasleys behind me, isn't that already like half the members?"

Fred threw his head back and laughed, "Maybe, if you count all of Mum and Dad's relatives. But I'm sure there are more of us than you think."

"I hope so, that would mean that at least some of your members are still unknown to the Death Eaters; the longer they go undetected, the better it is for them."

Fred gave him a pat on the shoulder, he couldn't agree more with that statement. Things were coming down to the wire, they needed to avoid casualties at all costs. Just then, George stood up and stretched, suggested that they move outside; everyone quickly agreed, wanting to enjoy the weather. Draco walked behind everyone, watching Hermione as she chatted with Ginny; despite everyone's worries, the atmosphere was still relaxed. She sat down on the grass and Draco quickly joined her, watching as the Weasleys pulled out their brooms from the shed. Draco felt a pang of regret; he hadn't been on a broom in a long time, he missed it. Despite what everyone had said about him buying his way onto the team second year, he loved flying; it was one of his escapes.

"I'm surprised you aren't up there too," Hermione said, interrupting his thoughts.

Draco chuckled lightly, "But then you'd be down here all alone. Unless of course, you want to be alone?"

Hermione shook her head softly, eyes never leaving the group flying above them, "I like having you here with me Draco, I just know how you like flying."

"I do miss it, but I don't have my broom here, maybe once things settle down, that will be the first thing I do."

They sat in silence for awhile, Hermione leaning against his shoulder, watching as Ginny swooped under George, passing their make-shift Quaffle to Charlie so he could score.

"Can I ask you something?" Draco asked quietly

Hermione dropped her eyes to look at him, nodding her head.

"I-I heard them call you Mione, back in the house. I like the sound of it, can I call you Mione too?"

"Of course you can! Only my close friends call me that, so I think it would be very appropriate, after all, you did save me."

Draco grinned as he draped his arm over her shoulders, "Yea, I guess I did huh? Thanks, for helping me feel welcome here."

The pair sat there for awhile, content to be next to each other and watching the Weasleys fly together; after awhile, Draco lay back so he could look up at the sky. As he lay back, he gently pulled Hermione with him, letting her rest her head on his chest. He linked his hands behind his head, happy to breathe in the air, some part of him was convinced it was fresher but that was probably just because they were away from his father now. He heard Hermione sighed contentedly as she got comfortable, hair fanned out over his chest and arms resting on her stomach; it had been so long since she'd just been able to lay back and look at the sky. As the sky started to glow orange, the Weasleys landed and put their brooms away, pausing as they saw the pair lying together. Ginny shrugged and walked over, dropping down next to them; she mirrored their poses, choosing to lay her head on her best friend's stomach, feet going the same direction as Malfoy's head.

Hermione smiled as Ginny joined them, "Feel better after all that flying?"

"Yea, now I'm worn out and hungry again," Ginny admitted, looking over to the blonde next to her. "What was it like for you?"

Surprised, Draco turned his head to look at the younger witch, her eyes full of curiosity, "Well, it wasn't fun, that's for sure. I constantly feared that the Dark Lord would show up at the house, even before Hermione was captured. There was a time when my house was warm and loving, but it hasn't been that way in a long time. I watched my mother cave in on herself, she stopped going out as often and stopped tending to her garden. She's strong though, instead of giving up, she started gathering information on everyone, just in case she'd be able to use it one day. I know she stayed strong for me, I try not to think about what it might have been like for her if I wasn't there."

"Sorry to hear that, I can't imagine how it must have been for you there. Even if you were a prat at school, no one deserves to be living in fear like that," Ginny offered, looking back up to the sky.

"Yea, it sucks, but now we're here; I never imagined that I'd be at your house. But I've felt so relaxed since we've come here. I can see now why Potter and Hermione would spend the holidays here, you have a very loving family."

Fred and George stood there, listening to the exchange, unsure if they should leave them be; they swapped looks and decided to join the small group on the grass. Charlie had gone inside to talk with their father, but the twins didn't want to deal with Order business just yet so they sat down on opposite sides of Hermione's outstretched legs. They leaned back into each other, supporting one another over her legs, each with one knee brought up to their chest; Draco glanced at them as they sat, it never ceased to amaze him how similar they were. They sat in an identical manner without a single word passing between them.

Hermione felt warmth spreading throughout her body, the only thing that would make this moment better would be if Harry and Ron could be here. Absentmindedly she began running her hands through Ginny's hair, slowly massaging her scalp, just to give her hands something to do. The movements caught Draco's eyes and he reached down and began to mirror her, running his hands through her soft curls. There were a few moments of content silence before the twins decided to cut in with their usual antics.

"Oi, we don't want to be left out do we Fred," George commented, reaching behind his head to run his hands through his brother's hair.

"Course not, I guess we'll just have to help each other out since no one else wants to include us," Fred agreed with a fake sniffle.

Draco propped himself up on his elbows, watching the two brothers awkwardly pet each other, blindly reaching over their heads as they sat back to back. Ginny started laughing at her brothers, they always knew how to cut into a good moment. Hermione sighed as Draco's fingers left her hair, but she couldn't help but giggle at the twins; she missed seeing this side of them. Before anyone else could comment, Charlie was calling them all to come inside and wash up, Mrs. Weasley was going to start dinner soon. There was a mad rush as everyone tried to get up at once, not wanting to be the last to shower; everyone groaned as they got tangled together in a mass of limbs. Ginny escaped first, laughing at them as she ran into the house, calling dibs on the shower. Grumbling, the twins managed to untangle themselves as well, each reaching down to lend a hand, helping the last two up. Draco laughed as George ranting about not having any hot water left, Ginny's showers always took forever, which Hermione countered by saying girls need to keep themselves clean, unlike rowdy boys.


	24. A Weasley Family Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guests have a traditional Weasley family dinner, with a lot of fun and craziness, Draco and Narcissa are a bit surprised, but don't feel out of place for long.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Molly shooed them upstairs to get a change of clothes and wait for the shower. Fred had been instructed to show Draco where he’d be staying as he and Hermione picked up their bags from where they left them in the family room. Hermione of course would be staying with Ginny like always and Draco was going to be in Percy’s room. Together they all went up the creaky stairs, stopping after a few landings to open up Percy’s door; Draco took a few unsure steps inside, unsure where to put his stuff.

“Just drop it anywhere, Perce has his own place now, so this room is all yours at the moment.”

“How could you tell I was nervous?” he chuckled, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders as he put his bag down on the bed. “Where is my Mum going to sleep?”

“Um, probably in Bill and Charlie’s old room, since Charlie isn’t actually sleeping here. He’s staying with Bill at the cottage right now, just coming over to talk with Dad and welcome you both here. So I guess Poppy will stay with her too.”

“Good thing you have you have all these extra rooms-” Draco started, interrupted as Ginny popped her head in the room. 

“Hermione, your turn,” she said, standing there with a towel wrapped around her.

Draco blushed and turned away, not used to girls walking around in only a towel; George expressed annoyance at her carefree attitude.

“GIN! We have company, you can’t be wandering around almost naked!”

“Oh please, it’s just Malfoy, and I have a towel! I do it all the time, geez.”

“Yea well, we’re family, it’s different! Go get dressed!” Fred ordered, pushing his sister up the stairs.

Draco smiled as he listened to the slight arguing of the pair going up the stairs, suddenly remembering that he had all of Hermione’s clothes in his bag. He reached out to stop her as she turned to leave, “I have all your clothes in my bag I think, let me get you something to wear.”

“Oh, I had forgotten about that.”

He turned and opened the bag, pulling out clothes, laying his on the bed and making a small pile of all Hermione’s clothes. Draco tried to hide his blush as he dug out her under garments, quickly adding them to her pile, and covering them with one of her shirts.

“I think that’s everything, plenty enough for now anyways,” the blond mumbled, handing her the pile of clothes.

Hermione thanked him and left the room, leaving him alone with George, “I’ll show you the rest of the house yea?”

“That’d be nice, it would be good to know where the bathroom is and which room has who in it.”

George laughed as they left the room, enjoying Draco’s quips now that they no longer held any bite. He pointed down the way they came, explaining that the first landing was Bill and Charlie’s old room, where his mom would be staying. Up the stairs at the next landing was a restroom, toilet and sink only, with nine kids in the house, it wouldn’t do to have the shower and the toilet together, too much bickering. After that was the twins’ room, easily remembered by the danger signs posting on the door. After that was the actual shower, Draco could hear Hermione humming lightly as they passed the door. Then there was the girls’ room, noted by the faded flower painted onto the door.

“Lastly, there is the Ron’s room, up the ladder, which he shares with Harry during the summers, not sure why he’s got the top room, all the other rooms are organized by age you know? But he never complains.”

“Well at least by being up there, he doesn’t have to hear everyone fight over the shower, I’m sure your sister heard a lot of that growing up,” Draco commented.

“Ha, I’m sure, this house could get pretty loud when we were all living here. But she spent a lot of time in the kitchen with Mum so I guess she wasn’t too close to us boys arguing constantly.”

As they made their way back down the winding stairs, they almost ran into Hermione as she excited the shower, hair dripping down her back, “Your turn now, don’t fight over whose next for too long, you might miss dinner,” she laughed as she passed by them, hurrying into Ginny’s room to get dressed.

George nudged Draco with his elbow, “You go on, Mum would kill us if we didn’t let our guest shower before us, Fred and I can fight over who is last once you’re done.”

“Thanks, I promise to save some warm water for you guys,” Draco said.

He hurried back down to his room before he remembered that he didn’t have any of the shower stuff in his bag, which was all with Hermione. With a groan, he went back up the stairs, gingerly knocking on the closed door.

“Hey Mione, can I have my shower stuff, I forgot that Poppy packed that in your bag.”

“Oh yea, hold on,” came the muffled reply.

After just a moment, the door cracked open and Hermione held the bag out, hiding herself behind the door, “Sorry, I’m not sure where it is, so it will be faster if you look for it, instead of waiting for me to get dressed.”

“No problem,” Draco replied, hastily grabbing the beaded bag from her hand. He opened the purse as he made his way to the shower, digging through the layers of stuff hidden in there. It took a few minutes but he finally found his body wash buried in there and pulled it out, quickly turning on the shower to a lukewarm setting. He undressed and piled his clothes on the small counter, along with Hermione’s purse; opening the cabinet he found some towels, and pulled one out. Gratefully he stepped under the stream of water, only slightly missing his larger shower back at the Manor.

*Ginny’s Room*

Hermione dried herself off and got dressed, sitting on her old bed; she could feel her eyes tearing up as she looked around Ginny’s room. Ever since her first year at Hogwarts, this place had been a second home to her, she was finally home again. She couldn’t stop the tears as she wondered how long they’d stay here, she knew that the Order wasn’t going to let the Malfoys stay here; The Burrow was one of their headquarters. Arthur had really stepped up once Moody had died, but it would be too risky to keep them here before they could be trusted. She knew that she’d be welcome here, Mrs. Weasley would be more than happy to keep her close. But Hermione wanted to be with Draco, they needed to figure out how to get rid of this spell. She didn’t even know if she was allowed to be away from his presence for long periods of time without any consequences. Outside the door, she could hear the shower cut out, meaning he had finished with his shower; she quickly wiped her eyes, not wanting to be caught crying. Dinner would be done soon and she didn’t want anyone thinking she was upset still, the Weasleys didn’t need that. To busy herself, she worked on straightening the room, putting her clothes away in the small dresser and trying to control her hair. It wasn’t long until she heard the twins arguing over who got to shower next, they caused quite the commotion as they both tried to run into the shower at the same time. Among the noise, she heard a small knock on the door, so with a strained smile on her face, she opened the door to see Draco standing there.

“Hey, I was just wondering if you wanted to head down with me, I’m still a little nervous about being down there by myself. Oh, and here’s your bag back,” Draco said, holding her bag up for her.

“Thanks,” Hermione took the bag and tossed it on her bed. “Might as well head down, the twins shouldn’t be too long.”

Draco held out his arm for her to take, still being the gentleman his mother raised him to be; he felt butterflies flutter in his stomach when she smiled at him and placed her hand on his arm. Together they went down the stairs and joined the family in the living room area. They walked in while Arthur was telling everyone about the latest news from the Order, there had been a lot of activity this morning. Before either of them could get settled, Molly called them all into the kitchen; Draco flattened himself along the wall to avoid getting run over as Ginny and Charlie raced to the kitchen.

“Good reflexes there, this house gets pretty rowdy,” Hermione giggled, loving the surprised face he had. She took his hand and led him to the table, sitting with him in the same spot as earlier. The twin appeared out of nowhere, wet hair clinging to their faces and wrinkled clothes haphazardly thrown on.

Dinner was animated, just like Hermione was used to, the twins giving Molly a hard time, Ginny throwing food at her brothers, Arthur trying to maintain control. Poor Narcissa looked so out of place; Hermione smiled at her, whispering that this was just the way the Weasley household was. Narcissa smiled in return, before reaching over and stealing a spoonful of mashed potatoes from her son’s plate.

Draco just gaped at his Mother while Hermione collapsed in a heap of laughter, “Mother, did you just steal some of my potatoes?”

“No,” she replied, putting the spoon in her mouth.

Draco turned to one of the twins across the table, “Did you see that? Our family is already rubbing off on us! No offense, but I hope my hair doesn’t start turning ginger.”

The twins looked at each other, an evil glint in their eyes; Draco face paled in fear, did he just give them an idea? Hermione struggled to breathe as she saw the twins exchange looks, Draco really shouldn’t have said anything. Draco hunkered down over his plate, not wanting anyone else to nab some, and he refused to look over at the twins, afraid of what he might further encourage. 

“I’m really glad you are relaxing Narcissa, I must say I’m a bit surprised,” Hermione praised the older women, once she had finally caught her breath.

“I do know how to have fun, I just rarely ever get to, being a member of a prestigious family, and raised as an elite Pureblood. But Draco and I would often have moments like this when Lucius was working at the Ministry.”

Hermione smiled before looking around at the table, noticing that someone was missing, “Where is Poppy?”

Molly sighed when she heard the elf’s name, “That poor little dearie, she just insisted on helping with the wash, I couldn’t say no to her. I tried and she looked as though she’d start crying!”

Draco nodded his head, “Yea, Poppy doesn’t know how to not work, it’s very relaxing for her. I offered to give her the night off once and she didn’t know what to do with herself. She kept telling me there was so much to be done, so I just let her go about her chores.”

Dinner continued and by the time Mrs. Weasley was bringing out dessert, Hermione found herself yawning. She barely made it through dessert with her eyes open, it must have been the early wakeup call and rush of adrenaline that sapped her body. That and the fact she finally felt at home and safe with the Weasleys; Lucius and Bellatrix couldn’t find her here. As she was about to excuse herself, she saw Draco nodding off, cheek resting in his hand. Hermione stood up and excused them both, nudging him awake.

“We’ve had a busy morning and it’s finally hit us. Thank you so much, again, for letting us stay here. And thank you for coming for us, I have no idea what might have happened if I stayed any longer.”

The Weasleys all nodded in understanding, bidding them both a good night. They trudged up the stairs, Draco choosing to walk Hermione all the way up to Ginny’s room and gave her a hug. He promised that he wasn’t going to be going anywhere, and that he was in Percy’s old room if she needed anything. She could also call out to Poppy if she was feeling lonely; Hermione smiled at his concern, knowing that he really just wanted her to feel safe.

“I should be okay, Ginny will be sharing the room with me but I don’t know how late she’ll be up, it’s only 8 o’clock.”

Draco nodded his head, glad that she was going to have someone with her all night, he hugged her tight and kissed her cheek, bidding her goodnight before making his way back down the stairs. As soon as he changed out of his clothes and fell onto the bed, he fell asleep, thinking of Hermione.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the semi-short chapter, the next chapter gets kind of intense and I want to have it all together, so this one got cut short. Hope you all enjoy it, next chapter should be up before too long =)


	25. Trouble Sleeping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione spends some time with her best friend, and then tries to get some sleep. Things do not go so well for her... the household is distraught and unsure how to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: This chapter contains scenes of torture and abuse, please do not read if it will upset you. The first first part is just Hermione talking with Ginny and then her falling asleep (which leads to the nightmare). If you don't want to read that, please skip down to *Draco's Room* to read about the aftermath of the nightmare.

*Ginny's Room*

Hermione slowly changed into her pajamas and sat on her bed; she was exhausted but she felt like she didn't want to sleep just yet. So she reached into her purse and pulled out one of the books they had brought, turning on the lamp beside her bed. Hours passed as she read, looking for clues pertaining to how to set her free; she had no idea how late she was up but when Ginny finally came up to the room, she finally put the book away.

"Happy to be home Mione?" Ginny asked as she climbed into her own bed.

"More than you know Gin, it's great to be here. Now we just have to hope that Harry and Ron are okay," Hermione answered, rubbing her tired eyes. Maybe reading for so long hadn't been a good idea. They turned off the lights and settled into their pillows, welcoming sleep.

As Hermione slept, she fell into a dark place, feeling a cold hard surface pressing against her cheek. Groggily she opened her eyes, looking around in the darkness, trying to get her bearings. But she couldn't see anything; she fought the panic rising in her chest, trying to take deep breaths. As she stood, her body felt heavy and numb, she stumbled forward, unsteady on her feet. Just then there was a creaking noise and light flooded the room, a cackling filled her ears. Hermione slapped her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the awful laughter but still it infiltrated her head and made her heart pound. Her hands were ripped away from her head, a menacing claw grabbing her chin and forcing her to look up. Hermione tried to scream, Bellatrix was staring down at her, but she was fast, casting a Silencing Charm before Hermione could even pull in a breath.

Bellatrix wrapped her clawed fingers in the witch's hair, dragging her up the stairs ruthlessly, not letting her get her feet under her. Hermione whimpered, trying to call for help but she had no voice anymore; tears were streaming down her face, she was terrified. As they entered the all too familiar drawing room, Bellatrix let her go, crouching down in front of Hermione, toying with her wand.

"You know Mudblood, you can't escape me, I will get answers out of you."

Hermione mutely shook her head, trying not to cry, at least without her voice, Bellatrix wouldn't hear her screaming out in pain. She tried to prepare herself for the oncoming curse but Bellatrix did something new. She swished her wand and Hermione heard a terrible ripping noise; moments later, Bellatrix tore Hermione clothes off of her, leaving her sitting in just her underwear. When she tried to cover herself, the other witch conjured up some rope and had her hands tied behind her back.

"Stand up! Let us see you Mudblood."

At her words, she felt a coldness settle in her belly, they weren't alone in here. She was yanked roughly to her feet by someone, who proceeded to press their body against her. She could feel their hands crawling over her body, groping her breasts and ass. Hermione struggled to get away but the hands held her close.

"Didn't I tell you Bellatrix, isn't her skin just beautiful?" a whispered voice said, right by Hermione's ear.

She choked out a sob, she recognized that voice, Lucius was touching her again, rubbing himself against her as she stood there practically naked. She kept squirming, just wanting to get away from them, but Lucius kicked her knees out from under her, forcing her to the ground. He rolled her onto her back, so she could see her attackers, both of them standing over her, grinning crazily.

"Now, what should we do with our new little pet?" Lucius asked.

"I think we should teach her that it's not nice to tease us with such pretty looks. No one should look prettier than a witch," Bellatrix whispered, pointing her wand at the tied up girl.

"Flagrate."

The tip of Bellatrix's wand lit up and she ran it across Hermione's arm, leaving an angry burning welt in its wake. Hermione flinched away from the pain, rolling onto her side and trying to stand; but she was instantly hit with another spell and went flying across the floor, crashing into a cabinet along the wall.

"Silly little girl, trying to escape is useless and will only make things worse," Bellatrix cooed as Lucius stalked towards her.

He grabbed her by the throat and hauled her to her feet, pushing her back towards the center of the room. She couldn't help but stumble at his harsh manner, barely catching herself before hitting the ground.

"Shall we try that again? It would seem as though you aren't such a fan of burns," Bellatrix smiled, pointing her hot wand at the girl again.

This time she ran the tip from her cheek and down the side of her throat. Hermione felt her knee weaken and her vision blur from the pain; the only reason she was still standing was because Lucius had a hold of her arms. Her skin was burning, that spell wasn't to be used on flesh, but clearly that wasn't stopping the evil witch. Lucius suddenly tilted her head and ran his tongue along the fresh welt, causing the girl to open her mouth in a silent scream, bucking against him. She could feel his erection pressing against her hip, making her want to gag but she was too busy screaming in pain. Bellatrix's evil laughter filled the room again, she loved seeing the pain in the girl's eyes.

"Maybe we should try something else, we don't want her passing out just yet, do we Lucius?"

He shook his head, running his tongue along the shell of her ear, "No, that would ruin the fun."

Suddenly he shoved her to the ground, flipping her on her back and holding her legs open; thumbs rubbing the soft inside of her thighs. Tears were cascading down Hermione's cheeks, this wasn't real, it couldn't be happening. Her breath came in short rapid gasps and she felt dizzy, she didn't know what they were going to do to her and she had to get away. She flinched when Bellatrix crouched down next to Lucius, scared of what was to come. She shivered as she felt the tip of her wand running down her thigh, no longer white hot thank goodness. But her thoughts were cut short as she heard Bellatrix mutter 'defodio' and felt a searing pain. Writhing in pain, Hermione looked down at her legs, seeing the blood flowing from the fresh cut that was just made. She continued to scream, even though no one could hear her as Bellatrix scored her thighs over and over again, leaving a bloody mess.

"Maybe she's ready to talk now, let's find out," Bellatrix pointed her wand at the hurt girl and lifted the spell, her heavy panting immediately reaching their ears.

"I hate you, both of you, go to Hell!" Hermione tried to yell, but it came out as a pained whisper. She tried to curl up into a ball but Lucius was still holding onto her. "Leave me alone," she pleaded, just wanting them to go away.

But instead, Lucius stood up and began disrobing, licking his lips as he stared down at her. Hermione felt herself go pale, eyes widening in fear; he wouldn't. But she knew that he would, and he would enjoy it, even more so with an audience. Hermione began to whimper and tried to scoot herself away but her legs were too weak. She tried to look away as Lucius stood over her, eagerly stroking himself.

"No, no, no," she cried, trying harder to make her tortured legs move. But Bellatrix laughed at her and pointed her wand once more.

"Crucio!"

Hermione screamed out in pain, eyes flying open. She saw someone standing over her, and she flailed in the bed sheets, trying to escape and ended up slamming into the floor.

"DRACO!" Hermione wailed, crawling back from the shadow on the other side of the bed. Amid all her screams, she couldn't hear Ginny calling her name, trying to calm her down.

Instantly Poppy appeared before her, taking one look at the state she was in and Apparated her out of the room.

*Draco's Room*

Upon hearing a bloodcurdling scream, Draco bolted out of bed, trying to get his bearings. Hermione was in trouble, she needed him. He found the door and flung it open, quickly orienting himself and turning up the stairs. But before he took a step, Poppy appeared before him, bringing a very distraught Hermione with her. The moment her eyes fell on him, she collapsed against him, wrenching sobs escaping her throat. He protectively wrapped his arms around her, trying to whisper in her ear as they sank to the floor; she was holding onto him, fingers buried in his skin, afraid to let go and get taken again.

Fred and George ripped open their door as Ginny came running down the stairs, Molly, Arthur, and Narcissa came running from the other direction. Everyone took in the scene: Draco was cuddling Hermione, rubbing her back as the girl held on to him for dear life, face buried in his shoulder as she bawled her eyes out. No one knew what to do, clearly she was in no mood to be disturbed; Narcissa motioned for Poppy to bring them a blanket, at least wanting them to be warm while they sat. Draco was oblivious as Poppy gently wrapped the blanket around them, focusing solely on the witch in his arms. After that, Poppy disappeared down the stairs.

"Hey Mione, it's alright, I'm here. Nothing is going to hurt you, you're safe here. I promise. Shh, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere," Draco whispered into her ear, cradling her head into his shoulder as she slowly calmed down.

Molly and Arthur went down to the kitchens, telling Narcissa they were going to look for some Calming Draught to give Hermione. Narcissa approached Ginny, who was crying and being held up by her brothers.

"What happened?" she asked gently, not wanting to push Ginny into hysterics.

"We were both asleep, and I heard these noises, and I realized Hermione was crying and whimpering. So I got out of bed and she was just tossing and turning in bed, I was almost afraid to wake her up. But then she just sat straight up, screaming. I think I scared her because she saw me and clawed the bed to get away from me, what did I do?"

"Nothing Dearie, nothing. She was having a nightmare, she probably didn't even see you, more than likely she was still seeing the things from her nightmare," Narcissa explained, gently pulling the young Weasley into her arms.

Fred went to go help his parents search and George just sat down on the stairs, wondering what Hermione could have dreamt about that sent her so over the edge. It reminded him of Ginny, that summer she came home from her first year, after that whole evil diary incident. All summer she would wake up screaming and never wanted to sleep alone. She was often found sneaking into his or Fred's bed in the middle of the night; it broke his heart to see Hermione going through something like that. As Fred entered the kitchen, he heard his father sigh and his mother's quiet sniffles.

"Hey Mum, can I help you look?"

Molly turned around, quickly wiping her eyes and putting a small smile on her face, "Of course Fred, that would be nice. I might have to make some more, I don't know if we have much left, after…"

"Speaking of that, I think we should have Gin take some of the potion too, it can't be easy seeing your best friend wake up like that. It might make her remember."

"That's a good idea, I'll start making a new batch now, you and Dad go ahead and keep looking, we should have at least two bottles left."

Back upstairs, Narcissa was comforting Ginny, running her long fingers through the girl's hair and rubbing her back. After Hermione's sobs calmed down, Ginny seemed to relax a little bit, but she was still worried about her friend.

"W-what happened at your house Mrs. Malfoy?" the girl asked, looking up at the taller witch.

Narcissa could tell that the girl wasn't trying to blame her, she was genuinely curious as to what kind of hell Hermione had lived through. She sighed deeply, knowing that she couldn't properly express what had really happened in the Manor.

"Well, that first night, she was tortured by my sister, they wanted her to give up her friends; she refused of course, but that only made Bellatrix angry. But after she had been bound to my son, she had a run in with my husband, ashamed as I am to admit it. He attacked her when Draco wasn't home, tried to force himself on her; if I had known that she'd be in danger, I would have had her with me. But luckily Draco came home before it could go too far; but the damage was done."

Narcissa paused when she felt the small redhead shudder in her arms, "Hermione is strong, just like you. She'll overcome this. After that, Lucius tried to disguise himself as Draco to continue where he left off but I saw through him. After that things were quiet for a bit, but then she was paraded around in front of them, made to act like a slave for their amusement."

George looked up from his spot on the stairs, "What happened then?"

"Well, Draco tried to make it look convincing without really hurting her, and he managed to step in before Bellatrix or Greyback managed to get their hands on her. But she had to wear this skimpy outfit and serve everyone breakfast; then Bella tried to make her answer more questions about Harry. But even under the spell, she refused."

George nodded his head, looking over at Hermione again, "She really is a Gryffindor after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, even though it was a little dark. But it was only a nightmare, although it seemed fitting to put it in, showing just how hard it had been for Hermione. And of course it led to dramione cuddles so that's always nice.


	26. What Really Happened Back Then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione, Draco, and Ginny manage to sleep through the rest of the night and spend some time together in to morning, before any members of the Order show up. Draco learns the truth about what happened in their 2nd year.

The group sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts; Hermione eventually pulled her face away from Draco's shoulder, wiping her cheeks with her hands.

"Better?" Draco asked, wiping away the last few tears with his thumbs.

"I-I don't know, but I can't cry anymore. I was so scared Draco, it was awful," Hermione whispered, looking over his shoulder, eyes unfocused.

"Well, it's in the past now, we don't have to worry about it, we're at the Weasley's house remember?" he gently prodded, tucking her hair back behind her ears.

"Yea, it was just a dream, but it was so real… my skin is still tingling," she mumbled, looking down at her legs, sighing in relief when she saw smooth skin.

"Come on, let's move somewhere a little bit softer okay? Did you want to have some tea or-"

Just then he was interrupted by Poppy coming up the stairs, "Poppy has made hot chocolate, it is down in the living room."

"Or hot chocolate, boy does Poppy know the perfect thing. Come on Mione, let's get you downstairs," he prompted, slowly standing up.

But Hermione's legs didn't want to work, they shook as she leaned against Draco, they both knew she wasn't going to make it down the stairs. So Draco bent and easily picked her up, holding her tight to his chest; she curled her arms around his neck and pressed herself as close as she could. His presence just calmed her and she never wanted to let go, she was safe when she was in his arms. They could hear footsteps, everyone slowly coming down the stairs behind them; when they passed through the kitchen, Molly turned to see a sight that brought tears to her eyes. Draco Malfoy, a boy who had caused Hermione much grief at school, was holding her against his chest, cheek pressed into her hair to give her comfort. Hermione looked so small in his arms, curled up on herself, and desperately clinging to him with her face nestled in his neck. No one said a word as he took her into the living room and sat on the couch, afraid to let go of her. Narcissa quickly followed and wrapped the blanket around them again, knowing it would provide comfort.

Hermione slowly took her arms away from Draco's neck but continued to sit in his lap, needing to feel his arms wrapped around her waist. Gingerly she reached out and grabbed one of the mugs of cocoa, smelling the wonderful aroma; Poppy really did know how to take care of them. As she sipped it, she could feel the tension working itself out of her body, warmth spreading through her limbs again. She offered the mug up to Draco, smiling at him, knowing he needed the comfort as much as she did.

"Thanks Mione," he whispered as he took a sip, he was grateful she was holding the cup. He didn't want to let go of her, ever again.

As they finished the first cup, Hermione put it back on the table and lifted the other one. Everyone sat in the kitchen, wondering what to do about Hermione's nightmares. Fred had found a few vials of the Calming Draught, but they weren't sure if Hermione was going to take it. When the twins looked over at Ginny, she flushed, remembering all the nights she had crawled into bed with them, seeking comfort. Fred came over to her and hugged her, not wanting her to be ashamed of her feelings and her memories; George went over and joined the hug, trying to make Ginny feel safe again. Without a word, she took the vial from Fred's hand and drank it, sitting down at the kitchen table, taking slow breaths. She was strong enough to admit she'd be better with the potion, there was no more shame in hiding her feelings.

The kitchen remained quiet as Mrs. Weasley finished making the new batch of potion and bottled it up, handing them to Arthur to store in their cupboard. Narcissa took the extra vial that Fred had found and went to see if Hermione wanted it, but she found them asleep on the couch. Draco had shifted his body so he was lying at an angle, legs spread out along the cushions and his shoulders on the arm of the couch. Hermione was curled up on his chest, arms wrapped around him and her body squeezed between her son and the back of the couch and the blanket laying across them. Narcissa sighed, Draco was going to get a very stiff neck if he slept like that all night, his head and neck were completely unsupported.

"Oh my, I guess Hermione didn't really need to potion tonight after all," Molly spoke up, appearing next to the other witch. "But that's no way to sleep," she tsked, pulling her wand out. With a couple of small movements of her wrist, she had transfigured the arm of the couch, making it taller and rounded at the top, cushioning the blond's head nicely.

"Thank you Molly, that's very thoughtful of you."

"No worries, they've had a rough night, I couldn't imagine disturbing them now; might as well make them comfortable. We should all probably head to bed ourselves, we have a busy morning coming up."

Molly extinguished all but one lamp, not wanting them to wake up and be in the dark again. Then she herded her kids back to their rooms, kindly looking away when Ginny followed the twins into their room. Narcissa bid the Weasleys good night once again and made her way up the flight of stairs.

*Sunday Morning*

Draco shifted, his body feeling stiff after hours of not moving; his arms met with resistance and when he looked down he got a face full of hair. He breathed in deep, loving the familiar smell of Hermione; as he tried to shift again, he realized that Hermione had a death grip across his chest, the rest of her body stuffed between him and the couch. She couldn't be comfortable but every time he tried to move she just snuggled tighter, he gave up after a few minutes, kissing the top of her head and snuggling back into the couch. He might as well sleep while he had time, who knows how long until the rest of the family woke up and things started happening.

It was a few hours later when Hermione first stirred, casually stretching her body to rid it of the kinks, it wasn't until she clipped something with her hand that she opened her eyes. She stared up at Draco's squinting face, lips spreading into a grin.

"Wha's goin' on?" he mumbled, woken up by her hand on his face.

"Scoot over, you're hogging the couch."

"You're hogging me! You've got more of me covered than the blanket!"

Hermione stifled a laugh, "Do you really mind?"

Draco wrapped his arms around her, "No, I don't. I actually rather enjoy it."

The pair slowly sat up and stretched, bodies grateful for a reprieve; Draco glanced at his watch and saw that it was only 7:30, they actually woke up fairly early. After a moment they both moved to a sitting position, blanket falling to the floor; Hermione ran her fingers through her hair, wondering who else might be up right now.

"Poppy?" Hermione called out gently.

"Yes Miss?" Poppy asked, immediately appearing in front of her.

"Who else is up right now, anyone? I don't want to wake everyone up by being too loud."

"Mrs. Weasley and Mistress Malfoy are both up, enjoying coffee. Breakfast will be started soon, please come join us in the kitchen," Poppy answered, smiling up at the witch.

"Coffee sounds delicious," Draco murmured, standing up and moving sluggishly towards the kitchen.

Hermione and Poppy quickly followed suit, Poppy running ahead so she could pour a mug for her Master.

"Oh, Good morning you two, I didn't expect you to be up so early," Narcissa said, looking at the pair as they sat at the table.

"How are you feeling now Hermione," Mrs. Weasley added, concern in her eyes.

"Fine, mentally I'm a little exhausted I guess. But after the slight interruption last night, I slept just fine. No promises on tonight though," she admitted, wondering if the nightmares would continue.

"Well I made some Calming Draught last night, if you want to try that. I'm sure after breakfast the kids are going to insist that you go out and do something in the yard. But after lunch, some of the Order members will be stopping by to talk with all three of you. Are you okay with that Dear?" Molly continued.

"I think so. As long as they don't totally grill me on what happened, I should be alright. I'm more worried about making sure they accept Draco and Narcissa."

"Arthur will be there when they speak with us, so it will be just fine," Narcissa promised, her calm demeanor belying the worry that was brewing under the surface.

Hermione smiled, grateful that there was an adult that seemed certain of their success, despite the fact that she was a legal adult, it made her feel better. Mrs. Weasley was making the same promises, assuring them that Arthur would make sure the other members wouldn't turn them away.

Draco draped an arm around her, "See Hermione, nothing to worry about."

Narcissa smiled at her son, she couldn't remember the last time she'd really seen him so carefree; the past few months had really taken a toll on him. She had thought that things would be alright if he had just returned to Hogwarts, but the Dark Lord had insisted that Draco had already proved himself capable of Dark Magic. So he had been stuck in the Manor, with her, since Dumbledore's death with the Dark Lord's suffocating presence. They had trials ahead, and they were going to have to stay hidden until the war was over, but Narcissa knew deep down that this was the right choice.

The four of them sat quietly while Poppy worked on breakfast, Hermione could tell that Mrs. Weasley loved the down time. It wasn't long before the smell of food roused Mr. Weasley and he appeared at the table, Poppy following right behind him with a mug of coffee.

"This is the first time I think a youngster has beaten me to the table," he laughed, noticing the two teens at the table.

"Any bets on who will come down next?" Hermione asked.

"Fred, no doubt about that, he always comes down when he smells food. I swear some times he's not even awake until after he eats. And after that is George, because he actually wakes up before appearing," Arthur answered.

Molly tsked at him, but smiled as well, she couldn't deny that it was the truth; Ginny was usually the last one up, enjoying her time to sleep in while she wasn't at school. Then on any given weekend, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, and Kingsley would show up for meals, so hopefully they'd all be at least semi-presentable when they stumbled down the stairs.

Arthur was proven correct when they heard a door open and Fred shuffled into view, mouth wide open as he yawned. Poppy was just starting to pile the food on plates so Molly commented on her son's perfect timing, to which he replied with a cheeky grin.

"Smells delicious Poppy, just like Mom's," Fred commented, dropping himself into a chair next to Narcissa.

Poppy beamed at his praise, "Thank you Mister Weasley Twin."

The whole table laughed at that, Fred reaching out to give the elf a quick hug before piling food onto his plate. The group started eating, Poppy had made pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns; it reminded Hermione of the good times, all the summers since she'd befriended Harry and Ron. George appeared shortly after all the food was on the table and plopped down next to Hermione, silently looking over at her to ensure she was okay after last night before tucking into his breakfast. The twins both talked about Order business with their dad while they ate, and Narcissa was discussing garden projects with Molly, so Draco and Hermione were left to their own devices, until Ginny appeared across the table from them.

"Ugh, I wish I could have slept longer, I feel exhausted," the youngest Weasley complained.

"Eat some of Poppy's bacon, it will cheer you up," Draco suggested, pushing the plate of fried meat towards her.

"It does smell yummy," Ginny conceded, reaching out to put some on her plate, along with a bit of scrambled eggs.

"After breakfast, do you maybe want to go for a walk? Since the weather is still nice and all, I'd like to enjoy it while I can, before I'm stuck in Order meeting for the rest of the day," Draco said.

"That sounds nice, we could go over to the lake and just kinda get away from everything, it's close enough to still be protected. Just as long as we don't go over to the far side, of course," Ginny responded, around a mouthful of bacon.

Hermione clapped her hands, excited to be spending time with the two of them, she really missed Ginny. They finished eating and thanked Poppy for the meal before excusing themselves from the table, eagerly heading out the back door. Molly and Narcissa watched them go, knowing they'd keep an eye on the time and be back before lunch. Molly was standing up and was going to help Poppy clear the table, but the small elf insisted that she do all the work, stating that Mrs. Weasley deserved a break.

Once outside, Ginny led the group over to the edge of the water, sliding out of her shoes and sitting down on the grass, feet in the water.

"How did you sleep last night?" Ginny asked, hoping she wasn't bringing up horrible memories.

"Actually, once we finished our hot chocolate on the couch, I fell asleep, out like a light. I think just knowing Draco was right there helped. I'm sorry that I made you worry Gin, I know that couldn't have been easy for you to wake up to that."

Ginny shrugged, trying to play it down, but her troubled eyes gave her away, "At first I thought that I had done something wrong, but Mrs. Malfoy told me that you probably didn't even recognize me when you had first woken up. But to see you crying like that... it was just too much to see. It was just like my summer after First Year all over again."

Hermione hugged the younger witch, feeling awful that she'd brought up those bad memories again. Ginny managed to hold herself together, leaning into the hug but not letting herself cry, it was years ago so she was fine now. Maybe if she told herself that enough times, it would be true. And now Hermione was going to have nightmares too, just like she did, and poor Hermione didn't have any brothers or sisters to comfort her.

"Do you mean from when you were... abducted?" Draco asked quietly, not wanting to intrude, but at the same time... wanting to understand.

Ginny looked up at him, startled and Draco flushed, thinking he had interrupted her thoughts, "I wasn't ab... wait, that's right, you don't know the real story... I didn't even think about that."

"The real story?"

"Yea...another of your Dad's awesome plans," Ginny grumbled, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Remember when I was telling you about the Horcrux, the diary?" Hermione asked.

"Yea, and that it was somehow tied in with the Chamber, and that Ginny was taken, what really happened?"

Hermione looked at the redhead, wondering if she wanting to talk about it, and Ginny shrugged, "I'd rather not tell it, but it's okay if you do, he should know what really happened."

"Okay, I can tell him later if you don't want to hear it right now," Hermione offered.

"Naw, might as well get it over with, it's been a few years, and I still get nightmares from time to time. It's not really something that you can get over, just learn to live with. And this way, if I'm here, I can kinda explain parts of it."

Hermione nodded her head and looked back towards Draco, but continued to rub Ginny's back as she started the explanation. "Since the Diary was a Horcrux, it had a piece of Who-Know-Who's soul in it, we're thinking it was one of his first attempts at it, since well, you'll see. Ginny treated the empty book as a diary and started writing in it. But then it wrote back, introducing itself as the Diary of Tom Riddle, and he... he became Ginny's friend. He'd listen to whatever she wrote and he'd talk to her, about everything; eventually he found out that she knew Harry Potter and used that information. The more Ginny wrote, the more power she was giving Tom, unknowingly since she had no idea what the Diary really was. He, he started to control her, possess her. Ginny was the one that was leaving all the messages, letting the monster out of the Chamber and letting it roam the halls. Well, not Gin, but Tom, using her body.

"Needless to say, she started worrying, telling Tom that she was having all these lapses in her memories, and that people were scared of this monster that was attacking people. After awhile she finally threw the Diary away, wanting to get rid of it, and I guess everything was okay. But then Harry found it and Tom told Harry some lies as well."

"God... that would creep me out, if I had a diary that wrote back to me like that... but I guess I'm not much of a diary person, being an 11 year old witch though, that might actually be nice," Draco commented, realizing just how messed up Ginny's first year had been.

Ginny chuckled, "Yea, it was really exciting, although I'll admit it was a little weird that it belonged to a guy. But hey, who was I to judge right? I think there might actually be a good market for selling smart diaries... as long as they don't contain the soul of an evil nutter of course."

"Maybe we should talk to the twins about that," Draco offered. "It can even recognize the person's handwriting so it will know if someone takes it and doesn't spill any of your secrets."

The girls both nodded at that idea, Hermione was a little surprised they didn't already have something like that, but who knows how hard that can be to fabricate? But she put the thought aside and continued the story, "Eventually, Ginny heard that Harry had found the Diary and freaked out, she was thinking that Tom would tell all of her secrets so she stole it back. Before long Tom had enough strength to control Ginny for longer periods of time, so he had her write her own 'abduction' note and then had her go down to the Chamber. Then he was slowly taking all of her life force, and he almost succeeded, but Harry managed to save her. He actually had to fight a Basilisk and face Tom, an almost corporeal form of ghost. When he destroyed the Diary, Tom vanished as well."

"And I take it Tom was the Dark Lord as a student, when he was still going by Tom?"

Hermione nodded her head, "That was why we had no idea that this was an evil Diary, it wasn't until Tom revealed to Harry who he was that all the pieces came together, although we still had no idea what it really was. We didn't learn about Horcruxes until our 6th year."

"First Year was so awful, I didn't have too many friends, because the other girls in my year liked different stuff than me so we didn't talk much. So I really confided in Tom and then that turned out to be a horrible idea. Mum didn't want me to go back my Second Year, but Dad talked her into it, I had all my brothers there to protect me and I didn't want to be the only kid to not go to Hogwarts. There was also the whole Sirius Black thing going on, so that was another thing Mum worried about. But it turned out okay for me, Ron got into trouble though, but it all worked out."

"Ginny, I'm so sorry that you were put through all of that because of my family, I had no idea... I mean, I know it couldn't have been easy just being abducted, but this is so much worse than what I could have imaged, having someone steal your body and use it against your will," Draco whispered, shuddering slightly.

"I had my family to help me get over it, I spent a lot of time with Fred and George, so it turned out okay, we're really close now. I'll always have them to lean on, like last night. I actually think talking about it helps, I never really got the chance before; I mean, Mum just couldn't listen to it, and really, I had no idea what had really happened, since I wasn't conscious. But, I did have all those moments of fear that I lived through, all the blank spots in my memory; I felt like I was slowly going crazy, I'd wake up in the most random of places, no idea how I got there or what time it was. At least now I know what it's like, we all do, so if that happens again, we'll know what it might be."

"Well, that's a good way to look at it, and I'm glad your family was there for you, and I'm glad you were able to overcome it. I never would have thought that you'd been through such a hardship, you were such a spitfire in school after that. Especially out on the field," Draco chuckled.

"Yea, I wasn't going to let anyone push me around after that, I took all that pent up anger and just became a badass," Ginny smiled.

All three of them laughed, just letting the dark mood lift as they started recalling various moments from Hogwarts, both good and bad- of course including the time Moody turned Draco into a ferret. Draco mumbled about how he was never going to live that down, but brought up Ron's horrendous dress robes from that year to get back at Ginny, even if it wasn't directly her embarrassment. The stories continued until Hermione asked what time it was, shocking the group when they realized it was almost time for lunch. Draco groaned, obviously feeling nervous about the upcoming meetings, but there was no use backing out of them. Once he actually got them out of the way, he'd feel better, but at least he was getting to eat before hand, it would be totally embarrassing if his stomach couldn't stop growling during the meeting. They walked back to the house barefoot, shoes in their hands, and went into the kitchen to see the two mothers standing together at the stove cooking.

Molly turned to smile at them as they came in, "Perfect timing, it's just about done, and some of the Order members will be here soon so eat up and get ready."

Draco nodded his head as he sat back at the table, the girls on either side of him; he was slightly surprised but grateful when he felt both of them squeeze his hands in reassurance. The quiet moment was spoiled when the twins came into the kitchen, arguing with Charlie and Bill about what their next course of action should be. Arthur shushed them, reminding everyone that Molly didn't allow Order talk at the table, so they all stopped and sat down, waiting for their Mum to set the food down. Lunch was subdued, everyone thinking about what was to come in just a few moments, so they all ate quickly, wanting to start the meeting as quick as possible. When they all finished, Ginny excused herself to go take a nap, already knowing that Mum wasn't going to let her attend the meeting, no matter how much she begged or bargained. Might as well catch up on some sleep then, she gave Draco a quick hug for good luck, then Mrs. Malfoy too before she disappeared upstairs.

The rest of the family went into the living room, easily casting a Silencing Charm on the room, just in case; then the Order members started showing up. First was Kingsley, then Tonks, Lupin, and Fleur came. Draco figured the members from school wouldn't be able to make it, not with Death Eaters there, but he was still slightly surprised that Kingsley was here. There was no way he was going to mess up, he had to show them all that he wanted to belong here. He took a deep breath and followed her mother into the room, letting Arthur introduce everyone before they sat down to start the meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, explanation time! For those of you who don't follow me/check out my tumblr, you've missed some of my updates about this story and Start Anew. I ran into a severe case of writers block when it came to all thing Dramione so I had no idea what to do, what to write. I know where I want to stories to go in the long term, but writing it out was just not happening =( So, instead of trying to force myself to write out just a few sentences everyday, which were just so out of place, I stepped away. Took my mind away from Dramione entirely (as you might have noticed, I went totally crazy with Teen Wolf hahaha) and I finally got back to it and was able to write. I'm sorry I took such a long break, I'm sure a lot of you worried that I had probably given up on my two stories, but fear not! I know I usually update both stories at the same time, but Start Anew, isn't quite ready yet and I just couldn't make you readers wait any longer for this chapter! So here it is, and the next chapter for Start Anew should be following closely, so be on the lookout for that as well.
> 
> Once again, I'm sorry for the long break, but I feel it works out better in the end. If I had tried to force the chapter, it would have come out all wrong, so to make up for it, this chapter is twice as long =D I hope you all enjoy it! Please feel free to let me know what you think of it!


	27. The Meeting Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the higher Order members meet at the Weasley house and are trying to decide whether or not the Malfoys are to be trusted... what will they decide?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update... looooooooooong wait, but had some personal stuff come up... all of my stories have been a little slow lately. I apologize to all my faithful readers, I know you've been waiting for a long time for an update. Thank you for sticking with this story, it really warms my heart to know that so many readers love this story!

"I'm glad you were all able to make it on such short notice, I know things have been really difficult for us all lately. But I've asked you all here because there has been an interesting development, one that I think could really help us in the war," Arthur started.

Kingsley spoke up, "I had heard that Miss Granger had gone missing although Miss Perkins hadn't been able to convey much to me during lunch the other day. But I'm glad she's here with us now."

Hermione smiled at the Auror, glad to be here as well, even if they still had a few problems to sort out. Arthur quickly filled in Kingsley, Tonks, and Lupin- they were the three that were left in the dark during the last week. Hopefully with them filled in, word would spread to the other members that were unable to make it today, once everyone was caught up they'd be able to move on to the next step.

"We were able to break into the Malfoy Manor and rescue Hermione, as well as bring Mrs. Malfoy and young Draco into our fold, hopefully," Arthur concluded. "That was why I've asked for this impromptu meeting, so we can discuss the merits of giving them a safe haven during this time."

"Are both of them willing to swear loyalty to The Order as well as give us information on You-Know-Who and his plans?" Remus asked, looking at the two blond interlopers.

As everyone turned to look at them, Narcissa acknowledged them with a nod of her head, "Yes, my son and I are prepared to help out however we can. I can't guarantee how much of our information will be new or useful, but we'll do our best."

"Also, I brought old Dark Arts books from the Manor, in the hopes that we could figure out how to free Hermione. During our time in the Manor, we managed to break down the meaning of the spell that was cast and we were debating if we should try and come up with a counter-spell. Obviously our progress was slow, I'm personally a bit hesitant to try it. I don't want to do anything that might make the situation worse, and we still have all those books to go through that might have some information."

"Write down the spell as best as you can, maybe Nymphadora and I can help figure out what kind of counter-spell to make," Remus offered, ignoring the glare from his wife at the use of her name.

"I could do some snooping while I'm at the office, they don't really have me doing much since they know I was close to Moody. They obviously can't prove that I'm a part of the Order or they would have fired me long ago and killed me; definitely a perk of being a Metamorphagus. So instead they kept me at the Ministry doing menial work," Tonks told the group.

"Yea, I might not have a lot of free time, since I'm still trying to talk with the various Werewolves and other things. But I was a pretty smart student back in my day, I'm sure I can offer some insight," Remus added on.

Draco nodded his head and grabbed up a quill, scribbling down the spell, along with the definitions of the root words that they had found out. As he passed the paper over Draco noticed that Kingsley glanced at the Dark Mark that was peeking out from his shirt cuff; he did his best not to flinch or cover it up guiltily. There was nothing he could do about it now, and he felt like if he tried to cover it up, it would make him seem more like a spy. The fact that he had the Mark couldn't be news to them, but it must still be shocking to see it on someone in the Weasley household. He watched as Lupin glanced over the paper before tucking it away in his robes with a slight nod; next to him Kingsley cleared his throat, apparently ready to get to the more serious topics.

"What information do you think you would be able to give us Mrs. Malfoy? Your husband and your son are known to be within the inner circle of You-Know-Who's Death Eaters, as well as your sister being one of his top generals."

Narcissa nodded, "Over the years I've been able to get close to several other wives and family members. Although, Bella and are can be considered close despite the time she spent in Azkaban, she takes her relationship with the Dark Lord more serious than anything else. She is definitely one to gloat about her importance but has never let anything important slip about her missions. If anyone were to know more about her missions it would be Lucius. They spend a lot of time together whenever she comes to visit us, after spending the proper time with her sister of course.

"But back to the rest of the question, I was an attentive wife, best at being invisible at all the important meetings that didn't include the Dark Lord. I've been able to gather information on some of the horcurxes he has as well as where they can be located."

Everyone in the room sat up straighter, Draco looking at his mom, mouth agape- she'd been able to pick up important information like that? What else could she give the Order?

Narcissa offered the room the smallest of smiles as she saw the effect her words had on the room, "I can also give you lots of information on the various Death Eaters, and Snatchers of course, and their positions and roles for the upcoming battle. I feel like after the last piece of information I just shared, this is a bit of a fizzle but I know this information is just as important and no less useful."

"Well uh, I have a list of people that the Dark Lord wanted me to start investigating, and I can give you the addresses of where I was delivering packages. But, then again you had Bill following me, so I'm sure you must already know some of them," Draco started, but paused when his mom put her hand on his arm.

"As you can see, we're both more than willing to cooperate, but I am uneasy giving away this information until you can promise us that we will be given sanctuary."

"Of course, that is a wise decision, I expect nothing less from a woman such as yourself. I won't get ahead of myself and say anything without consulting the other Order officials, but I will express my personal feelings on this matter," Arthur said, looking around the room slowly. "There is no doubt that the Malfoys have been closely associated with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and there are going to be those that might balk at letting you two into our fold but none can argue that the information you're promising to give us will be, well, it can turn the tide of this war."

There was a quiet murmur of agreement that went around the room and Draco felt his heart flutter and a light pressure on his arm. Hermione on was his left, squeezing his arm as she listened to Arthur's words. Narcissa smiled at her son and nodded to Arthur, letting him know that she understood and waited for him to continue, but it was Kingsley that spoke up next.

"I know that these aren't the most ideal circumstances to hold a vote, a lot of our core members aren't here and we don't have much time left before we're expected to be places. But none of us can doubt the urgency of the matter at hand, and how this information would aide in our fight. I say that we hold an impromptu vote now on whether we should take them in or not. Honestly I believe that the fewer people that know about the Malfoys coming to our side, the better. As careful as we are with our information, it's not hard to believe that they might have a few moles just as we have. Is there anyone that we should include in this vote that was unable to make it today?"

Arthur, Kingsley, and Remus quietly discussed the merits of various other members quietly, wondering if there were any other members that could be trusted with this information. Draco couldn't hear the names they were passing around, which was the wisest choice considering they weren't technically under Order protection yet. While Draco waited, he wondered just might become of him and his mother if they were voted against. Clearly they'd already been taken into one of the most secure locations the Order has, all for Hermione's sake. Now that they had her, they could easily turn him away, wipe their memories, or keep them trapped somewhere. He highly doubted they'd resort to torture or other underhanded methods to get the truth out of them, if that was ever an option there was nothing stopping them from kidnapping them and drugging them as soon as they had Apparated to the house.

"There are other such as Amos and Minerva of course that we should contact, but I don't think having a second meeting so soon would be wise, we'll have to have the vote without them. Hopefully Minerva can help spread word of our new information to the other teachers at Hogwarts, and Amos can carefully help me alert the others in the Ministry. Is that agreeable?" Arthur asked.

After everyone nodded, Fred escorted Draco and Narcissa back into the kitchen, assuring them that they had no reason to be denied. Draco wondered how long the vote might take, he was sure they were going to want to discuss everything thoroughly before making a decision… hopefully Hermione would be able to reassure any of the more doubtful members.

*Living Room*

The group waited until Fred came back in and took his seat, Kingsley asking for doubts to be immediately brought forward. There was a quiet moment of hesitation before Fleur spoke up.

" 'Ow can we know for zure if Mrs. Malfoy haz this information about ze 'orcruxes?"

"Quite frankly we can't know for sure, and anything she could tells us might be a lie, we'd be taking a chance. This discussion right now is to ask whether or not we should take that chance."

Hermione bit her lip to stop from speaking out of turn, she knew that Fleur was voicing a legitimate concern, and her views would be considered clouded by her time in the Manor with them. But she desperately wanted to tell them how Narcissa and Draco sincerely wanted to be done with the Dark Lord. She listened while Tonks and Fleur discussed the odds of Veritaserum working on the pair, Lupin of course adding something from time to time. Minutes later Molly finally spoke up, noticing the distressed look on the young girl's face.

"Hermione, what would you like to say on the matter?"

"I-I know that you probably think I've been persuaded by Draco since my time spent with him, especially since you don't know what happened during my time there. But I promise, both Narcissa and Draco want to come to our side. Draco is just a boy, like Ron, Harry, and the rest of us… he got pulled into something, something he'd been raised to believe in. But despite all the hate and biased beliefs he was raised on, he's been able to see that he's on the wrong path. He told me that he knew it the moment he got the Dark Mark, that everything was wrong. He had been too scared to trust in Dumbledore, but he didn't want to kill him, he couldn't. But he loves his mother, and in some ways, his father… what choice did he have? Dumbledore saw that, he knew that no 16 year old could possibly be expected to make that kind of choice. He offered Draco a chance, but it was swept off the table when the other Death Eaters stormed the castle.

"I've seen the remorse that Draco feels, it's real- he's been trying to make things right since the moment I was put in his care. He's done his best to protect me, and so has Narcissa. I'm sure many of you have noticed that Narcissa doesn't even have a Dark Mark, she isn't considered one of You-Know-Who's most favored. She did what she had to in order to survive, and ensure the survival of her son. The worst thing she can be accused of is loving a man that fell onto the dark path… Most of you are from the era when the Dark Lord first rose… you remember how scary it was, but surely you also remember just how the Pureblooded families were expected to behave. Narcissa told me that Lucius didn't always used to be like this, but that after spending time under the Dark Lord's presence… he changed. He knew that in order to gain favor, he'd have to do more, and he felt like the Purebloods did deserve to rule. Over the years, he became more and more lost and corrupted, it was inevitable. Narcissa on the other hand was raised to stand by her husband, to follow along dutifully- and for the sake of her son, she did. At first she hoped that things would get better after You-Know-Who fell the first time, despite what Lucius had done. She still loved him, still believed in him… Just like she still has love for her sister. But that doesn't mean she can't see that what they've done is wrong, that they've committed unspeakable horrors. You can still love someone and know they are wrong.

"I don't mean to ramble but… I believe the fact that they both offered no resistance in coming here, in allowing you to bring me home, they've proven they want to do the right thing. They are tired of doing what is expected of them, they know now that Lucius cannot change his ways, and that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named needs to be stopped. I can't put into words, how much the two of them protected me while I was in their care… You may say that those in the Slytherin House are vile, lying snakes, but… I've seen their compassion. No snake, no matter how cunning, can fake the emotions I saw, and I believe they deserve the chance to show you as well. Mrs. Weasley, Bill, all of you here in the Burrow have talked with them… Can you not say that they are not what you expected them to be? Can you look them, and me, in the eye and say that it's all just been an act?"

She looked around the room and saw the thoughtful look on all the faces of the Weasleys, she knew it was true. Especially when it came to the twins, neither of them would have expected to see this side of Draco, not given the way he behaved at Hogwarts. But this wasn't Hogwarts anymore, this wasn't carefree students acting on the beliefs they were raised on. This was war, and war changes people; luckily it changed Draco for the better and now his life depended on the people in this room.

"Hermione is right, the Draco that came to our house the other day, isn't the same snotty brat that we went to school with. This is a kid that has had his whole world turned upside down, evil acts pushed upon him, and has ended up cracked and broken. But despite all of that, he didn't turn out like his father, he didn't embrace the darkness around him, instead he rebelled and opened his eyes. I can only believe that was possible because of Narcissa- of all the bad things I've heard and seen about the Malfoys, Narcissa's name has never been mentioned. I think there is a reason for that," George said.

Molly nodded, "Even during the first war, Narcissa wasn't accused of breaking any laws, in fact, I think she worked hard on keeping her hands clean, while still presenting herself as a loyal enough follower. She knew that her life depending on being perceived as a loyal follower, but at the same time, she wouldn't commit any crimes that would endanger her future. Despite all the bad things people say about Slytherins, it can't be said that Narcissa isn't cunning. She has all of the traits required of a Slyhterin, she's smart, loyal, and above all, a survivor. Usually this is taken to mean that they are spineless people, choosing to follow You-Know-Who because they were afraid of being killed, like so many declared on trial. But with Narcissa, she was able to be so closely surrounded by all that evil and survive. Her own sister is one of You-Know-Who's most powerful generals, and yet she has not been compelled to commit any atrocious acts. She stayed in a dangerous world, first because of her loyalty to her husband, and then for the sake of her son, but she never let it corrupt her. She did what she had to in order to survive in the house, and I can't fault her for that. Over the past day, I've spoken with Narcissa a lot, and I've come to see the bright, caring woman that she is, the one that she kept carefully hidden. It may have taken a few years to jump ship, but at least she has finally decided that her loyalty to her husband isn't worth her life, or her son's."

"I'm compelled to agree, even if it has taken them time to come over to our side, I say it's better late than never. And as it stands, neither of them have done anything that isn't unforgiveable, since we know it was not Draco that killed Dumbledore that night. And from Harry's statements, it appeared that he would have accepted Albus's offer, had he more time. We should believe in these two, the possible information is worth the risk. Now all that is left is to come up with the terms of their settlement," Kingsley offered.

"Where should we have them stay? Clearly too much goes on in the Burrow to allow them to stay here, regardless of how much we trust them," Bill said matter-of-factly.

"What about at Grimmauld Place? I'm sure Harry and Ron haven't stopped by there in forever, not since we were almost followed after the Ministry incident," Hermione offered.

There were a few slow nods as everyone considered this information, Bill speaking up again, "And what of the guarantee of the information given?"

Arthur addressed this, "We should have them know that Veritaserum is a must when they are being questioned. Also that if any information they give us turns out to be a trap, we have the right to modify their memories and drop them off in the middle of nowhere."

"Arthur!" Molly cried out, surprised at his harsh solution.

"Okay, maybe not the middle of nowhere. But the deal of sanctuary is off if anything they give us results in a trap. And if we do end up housing them in Grimmauld Place, we'll have to find a way to ensure they can't leave and inform the Death Eaters of what is going on. We already took a chance by letting them into our house, into the Fidelus Charm, but that was an informed decision on the behalf of me and my wife. We believed young Draco to be sincere when talked with him and had no reason to doubt him. Are we ready to vote?"

Kingsley cleared his throat and looked around the room, "The voting will commence; if there is anyone that still has any doubts or questions you would like addressed, please raise your hand now. If there are no raised hands, then it will be decided as a unanimous vote to bring the two Malfoys under our protection."

*Kitchen*

Draco traced imaginary figures along the top of the table, leg bouncing as he waited for someone to come back through the door. His mother seemed to be quite composed as she sipped at her coffee and read over the paper. Maybe one of these days he'd learn to be as composed as her, but he doubted it- she had a regality that he could never achieve. He did however manage to hold in his many sighs of frustration, although his face must have conveyed some of his emotions because every few moments Narcissa would lay a comforting hand on his arm. According to his watch, it was about 15 minutes so far, not too bad considering the list of Malfoy crimes and associates. He knew it was going to take time, something like this couldn't be done in the blink of an eye, but still… he couldn't help but worry. Surely they must be questioning Hermione, wondering if maybe they had bewitched her into telling lies- or he supposed, just ordered her too. As he followed that line of thought, he began to wonder about how strong the spell connecting them might be.

As they had found out the other day, the will of the 'slave' affected the spell, at least when it came to certain things. She had no control over some bodily things, he had no trouble in getting her to retrieve things, or to stop talking; he just couldn't make her talk about something she didn't want to. But, according to his aunt… that would have changed over time, why? Did it have something to do with her will to disobey breaking over time? And on the other hand… how well could Hermione have disobeyed an order to tell a lie? Draco began to panic as his thoughts dived further and further down this road, he hadn't thought about this since he knew he'd done nothing to be a Master over Hermione, but the Order was more cautious than that. Surely they must have already assumed anything Hermione might say is a fabrication that she'd been ordered to tell, were they in there, grilling her under Veritaserum right now? How would they ever be reassured that Hermione was acting under her own free will? Would they think the spell was strong enough to wield that kind of control?

"Draco, what is wrong? You mustn't give in to despair so quickly, I'm sure they are taking everything into account and judging us fairly," Narcissa interrupted, noticing the horrified look on her son's face, and the faraway look in his eyes. He'd clearly been lost in thought, thoughts mirroring hers most likely- wondering about what exactly was being said in the other room. But she had faith, the Order was everything the Death Eaters were not, that was the whole point. Where the Death Eaters would just assume guilt and then dispose of you, the Order would listen and believe. That's not to say that they were all pushovers that could easily be manipulated, oh no. Many of the members were highly regarded Aurors, people trained in apprehending Dark Wizards; they knew what they were doing. But Draco must be having doubts, pushed by the guilt of his actions.

"Mum, what if they don't believe Hermione? What… what if they think she's lying?"

"Why on Earth would she lie to her friends, her family?"

"Because she's…technically my slave isn't she? What choice would she have?" Draco asked quietly.

Narcissa turned to look at the transfigured wall blocking them from the living room, eyes narrowed in thought. Draco's thoughts had taken a rather dark turn, but a valid turn nonetheless… and the Order was smart, there is no doubt they'd have the same questions, wouldn't they?

"We'll just have to have faith Draco, we know that we haven't done anything to harm Hermione, now we just have to assume they see that too."

Draco took a deep breath to steady himself, knowing his mom was right; worrying wasn't going to change anything right now. If they didn't want to believe Hermione, they'd have to deal with that later; truthfully it didn't really matter how strict the terms were, they'd agree to them if it meant never having to go back to the Dark Lord. Hopefully he'd still be able to see Hermione, that was the only thing he really wanted. It was another few minutes before the transfigured wall resumed its usual shape and Arthur and Hermione walked into the kitchen.

"Well, it's done," Hermione started solemnly. "The Order has decided… to bring you under their protection!" She couldn't help but grin widely as she flew to the table and hugged the two of them. The hard part was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be some inconsistancies with how this story is progressing and the events in the books. I'll admit is has been awhile since I've reread the books, so some information may have been forgotten by me, or at least the order of events. I'm doing my best to double check my facts as I'm writing, but may miss something here and there. That being said, there are also liberties that are going to be taken with the storyline (as if that isn't already obvious) that will be coming up in the future chapters. I'm sure you will all realize this is for the sake of my storyline and is designed to make things as fluid as possible. One of these misinformed parts is that... I forgot that Kingsley isn't yet the Minister... I had written this part assuming that he was, and it wasn't until after I was finished and editing that I realized he wasn't yet. I tried to fix it as much as possible, but I may have mislabelled him in some spots. He is still supposed to be an Auror and set as a body guard to the Muggle Prime Minister when this scene takes for reading!


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